Blades of The Nameless
by JFlare205
Summary: Thieves, robbers, murderers, nothing but heartless individuals who deserved to have their lives taken away. However, when these so-called heartless people show compassion, care, or even love, do they deserve to have to lives taken? Are they worthless? Are they trash? Or do they get a second chance? Does everyone... deserve a second chance? Descriptive gore, rated T.
1. Stolen

Stolen

People fear the unknown. What most people don't know, also don't understand. They avoid it at all cost, or otherwise be completely petrified. Those who fear the unknown, fear change. Fear that something will occur that will alter what they know and what they believe. They want to stay in their comfort zone, being careful not to "rock the boat." However, the unknown can lead to greater things. The very things that we are unaware of, can unlock potential, greatness, the most wonderful things imaginable. But in order to access those wonderful things, we cannot fear the unknown. We cannot fear change. We must embrace possibility.

The streets were calm and quiet. There were barely any people out, as it was practically the dead of night. The moon brightly illuminated the cloudless sky, accompanied by the street lights below. As the cool air breezed through the area, so did other swift moving individuals. Three obscured figures quickly hurried through the streets, hopping over buildings and swinging off lamp posts. These three figures hurriedly made their way toward one of the most heavily guarded and noteworthy buildings in ChromAfton City. Their goal, steal a diamond that had been passed down through generations of ancient civilizations. The diamond was covered in encrypted code, just waiting to be deciphered. The three grew closer to the building, assuming their predetermined positions. This group of thieves executed their plans expertly, the three of them clearly knowing full well what they were doing. The leader of the group, Harley Fazbear, hurried up the building, swiftly launching himself from ledges and lunging toward the roof. Once there, Harley ejected his claws from his fingers, swiping the entrance to the ventilation system to use as his way in. The bear climbing into the vents, quickly and silently making his way toward his target. His eyes scanned through the area as he crawled through the ventilation system, noticing several guards walking about the vicinity. The bear stopped when a bright teal glow caught his attention. He looked over toward the glow, finding a heavily cased diamond, white binary encryptions with green outlines intricately scattered around it. Harley grinned behind his mask, his eyes gleaming with excitement. The bear ejected his claws once more, carefully slicing through the vent shaft to make an opening. Harley held tightly onto the vent walls as he lowered himself toward the main floor. The bear hit the ground softly, rolling toward on of the pedestals to hide behind. With a soft sigh, Harley turned and looked over toward the diamond once more. The encryptions illuminating off the gem, seeming as if they were orbiting the bright diamond. The bear could almost salivate at the sight, that gorgeous gem filled to the brim with groundbreaking knowledge and power. Harley's grin grew, the anticipation of getting his hands on that diamond enticing him to make his move. The bear's ears twitched when he heard the footfalls of the guards coming toward the room. Harley sat up straight, hiding himself completely behind the pedestal. Three guards entered the room talking amongst themselves. What about, Harley didn't care. All he cared about was getting that ancient diamond. The bear got to his feet, staying low as he walked toward the guards. Harley crept up behind the three of them, a sadistic grin on his face as the gap between them swiftly shrunk.

"Look out!" A new guard, standing at the entrance of the room, shouted. The three guards turned around to see the bear lunge toward them. Before the guards could raise their weapons, Harley grabbed the middle guard's face as he flipped over him, using the man's body for momentum as he threw the guard to the ground. Still in the air, Harley kicked the guard on his right across the face, sending him flying toward the window. Just as the bear hit the ground, he launched himself back upward, kneeing the third guard in the chin, sending him backward as well. Harley looked back toward the fourth guard standing in the corridor, panting with sadistic joy with his claws protruding from his fingers. The guard raised his gun, pointing it straight toward the bear.

"You're dead!" The guard yelled, pulling the trigger. In an instant, Harley disappeared, barely visible as he made his way toward the fourth guard. The guard shot his gun pitifully, every bullet missing. The gun suddenly stopped, the shells hitting the ground as the gun cocked repeated, nothing shooting.

The guard panted fearfully, "No... no, no, no, no, no!" At that second, Harley reappeared and forcefully gripped the guard's face, digging into his skin with his claws.

"Hahahahaha!" Harley laughed maniacally as he slid his claws across the man's face, ripping the skin clean off. The bear took a few more swipes at the guard's body, not only for good measure, but because he wanted to. Harley let out a pleased sigh, turning toward the diamond once more.

"You're all mine." He hummed, his eyes locked on the teal glowing diamond. He carefully picked up the gem, the magical encryptions gliding and orbiting around the beautiful diamond.

"Harley, you're taking too much time in there." Harley heard Bonnie's voice say in his intercom.

"I know what I'm doing, get off my ass!" Harley retorted almost immediately, looking back toward the gem.

"I warning you, Harley! You better get out of there before more reinforcements get to you!"

"Oh please, I'll beat them up too." Harley replied with a shrug, "What's the point of getting in and getting out? It's supposed to be fun, I'm not looking to get bored later."

"Look, dude, you have your fun later. Right now, we need that gem!" Bonnie urged.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming! Don't get your panties in a bunch!" Harley replied, tossing the diamond up and down. The bear turned away from the pedestal, walking toward the entrance. As he turned around Harley noticed a shadowy figure in the corridor. A smirk went across the bear's face.

"Hehe, here already, huh, Hilary?" Harley chuckled. The figure took a few steps closer, stepping into the light. A brown bear with a deep and sky blue super suit emerged from the darkness, a glare on his face.

Harley took a step back in surprise, "Y-you ain't Hilary! Wh-where is she?!" A smirk went across the darker brown bear's face, his eyes shifting toward the windows.

"Let's just say… she got a little hung up." The bear answered, looking back toward his adversary. Harley frowned, narrowing his eyes.

"Look, I don't know who you are, but you're picking a fight you can't win!" The taller bear snarled, clenching his fists.

"I beg to differ." The brown bear chuckled, lifting his head minutely, grinning at Harley. Harley growled in response, deciding to make the first move. The bear lunged toward the shorter, who effortlessly dodged the attack. Harley grit his teeth as he used his free hand to suspend himself in the air by planting it on the ground, turning at the waist to kick his adversary. The shorter bear dodged the kick as well, throwing a punch toward Harley. Harley pushed himself backwards and upright, blocking the punch with his right wrist. Harley then threw a punch as well, which the opposing bear also dodged, then kneed Harley in the stomach.

"Aghh!" Harley grunted, doubling over as he stumbled backwards.. "Y-you… you actually hit me."

"No shit." The shorter bear scoffed, "And it won't be the last time." Harley looked up to see another fist flying toward him, which he narrowly avoided. The shorter bear slammed his fist into the wall as a result, looking toward Harley with a growl. The two threw punch after punch and kick after kick, exchanging blows. After a little while, the two bears panted heavily, angrily glaring at each other.

"This… this guy… is actually able to keep up with me…" Harley mused, sweat dripping from his forehead and hair.

"Who are you?" Harley asked his adversary in a stern tone.

"Freddy…" The bear answered similarly, "Freddy Fazbear…"

"Freddy Fazbear…" Harley repeated with venom, "Freddy Fazbear…. You've crossed the wrong thief." Freddy scoffed in response, a grin going across his face.

"Harley! Get out! Now! The authorities are here! We need to go!" Bonnie's voice rang through Harley's earpiece, causing the bear flinch from the sudden noise.

"Okay… I'm coming." Harley answered, his eyes darting between Freddy and the diamond.

"Don't even think about it." Snarled Freddy, pushing himself up to his feet.

Harley shook his head, chuckling softly, "You know I have to." With that, both bears sprinted toward the glowing gem, knocking over pedestals and other artifacts as they ran. The two of them dove for the ancient diamond, reaching out their hands in desperation, hoping to grab it before the other. Suddenly, held out his hand in Freddy's direction, and out of nowhere, Freddy was sent flying backwards, slamming into a wall. The taller bear quickly picked up the diamond, crashing through the window, laughing maniacally.

"See ya later, Fazbear! Hahahaha!" Harley taunted in his laughter, jumping from the building. Freddy winced as he sat up a bit, glaring at the broken glass as he panted softly.

"Dammit…" He swore, "There really is a first for everything…"

* * *

 **A/N: Heeeeyyyy guys and gals! JFlare here! Only this time with a friend! Everyone, I'd like you all to meet SuperGrumpyBear! She and I will be writing this story together! She isn't here on fanfiction, but the both of us are on Tumblr with a joint blog specifically for this new AU! Now, those of you that are familiar with the Universe of By the Blade, you will quickly get used to this Universe. The reason for this is because this AU mashes my "By the Blade" AU with Grumpy's "Nameless" AU! Things are going to get interesting extremely quickly! Grumpy and I have a lot of plans for this, and we hope you all will like it! Thank you guys for your continuous support! And don't worry, By the Blade, Those New Nights at Freddy's 2, and The Fazbear Brothers are all continuing! Haha! We hope you all enjoyed this first of many chapters to come! Until next time, live life like an Xplosion! JFlare out!**


	2. Progression

Progression

Freddy stormed into the Technological Development Organization Defense Team Headquarters, walking straight into the lounge where he found the other four members of his team. The bear angrily unclipped his cape, tossing it the ground as he plopped onto the couch, slouching as he folded arms.

"Dude, what is wrong with you?" A male purple bunny, Freddy's first teammate, named Bon, asked him.

"Nothing, B, just… shit…" Freddy sighed, turning away from the bunny.

"He's probably upset because he got his ass kicked." Lydia, a female lavender cat, Freddy's second teammate and team leader, chuckled.

"I didn't-!" Freddy stopped to counter, but couldn't be he knew it was true. The bear turn back over the growled angrily.

"You got your ass kicked?" Bon implored. "How?"

"I didn't get my ass kicked, it was more of a tie…" Freddy murmured.

"Defeat is nothing to be ashamed of, Freddy." Lu, a panda and Freddy's third teammate, spoke up. "Defeat comes with victories. I'm sure you know you can't win every battle, right?"

"Yeah, but I've had an awesome record! I've never lost!" Freddy exclaimed, sitting up. "This is the first time, for me! No one has ever beaten me!"

"Well, there's another saying." Lu replied, a small smile going across his face, "There's a first for everything."

Freddy scowled, resting his head on the couch pillow again, "You're not helping, Panda Boy…"

"You want something to eat, Freddy?" A male, seven foot tall, and rather overweight bear named, Yorokobi and Freddy's fourth and final teammate, asked. "Food always makes me happy.

"I'm fine, Kobi." Freddy deadpanned, "I just wanna sleep."

"Oh, then sleep." Yorokobi giggled softly, sitting down beside Freddy. "It's not the end of the world just because you lost a fight. Who knows, maybe you'll be able to get your rematch."

"If I do…" Freddy muttered, "I will make sure I beat the absolute shit out of him…"

"You do that." Bonnie grinned, taking a slice of pizza from the counter. The group fell minutely silent, taking this time to rest before they were given their next mission. This team was numbered Team 7, and was just one of the 15 teams that were under the Technological Development Organization Defense Team, also known as TDODT. Additionally, the Defense Team was just one of the many sections owned by the massive company TDO, or Technological Development Organization. TDO is the largest and most successful company in the industry for technological advancement. The Defense Team was run by Commander Robert Kindreth, a human and Lieutenant Joshua, a wolf. The premise of TDODT was to protect ChomAfton city from the citizens from threats both inside and outside the city. In a sense, the teams replace the police, while working alongside them, while simultaneously working above the law. In other words, the assassins do what they do with purpose, and they are able to do so however they wish, without repercussion. If one were targeted by TDODT, their days are numbered.

* * *

Toward the middle of the day, Team 7 was out and about. They didn't have anything specific to do at the moment, the five were simply roaming about the city. If they were lucky, perhaps they could find some individuals to shut down while they were out. The five leapt from rooftop to rooftop and building to building, jumping over alleyways and running through the streets.

"You know, as much crap that goes on around here, I'm surprised we haven't gotten another mission yet." Bon spoke up, running beside Lu and Lydia.

"Perhaps there just haven't been any missions that have been worth our capabilities." Lu said, smirking.

"That's a confident way to look at it." Chuckled Lydia, glancing in the panda's direction. As the group continued to run, suddenly, a small explosion went off behind them. The five instantly turned around, each of them looking for the cause the sound. The crowds of people and anthros began to frantically run away from the source, screams of terror ringing through the streets. As the smoke from the explosion cleared, the loud screeching of tires could be heard. Almost instantly, two cars zoomed out from the smoke.

"Kobi!" Lydia shouted the bear's name.

"Coming right up!" Yorokobi replied, jumping from the rooftop he stood on and dropped to the street, grinning largely as he punched his fists into the front of both cars, stopping both in their tracks. "Hi!" The large bear beamed the the robbers in the cars.

"Seriously? Robbing a bank? Could you get anymore cliche!?" Freddy shouted as he walked up to the cars. The robbers pulled out their weapons, aiming them at the group. Freddy and Lydia both quickly responded, jumping toward the cars as they both snatched the guns and tossed them aside.

"I was hoping for something more exciting." Lydia sighed, shaking her head. "I suppose this will have to do for now. The four men yelped, climbing out of the cars in attempt to escape. Bon chuckled and shot four plasma shots right in front of each of them, then walked around to them, aiming his plasma shooters at their heads.

"Come ooon, guys." The purple bunny, "You gonna do something like that and try and run away from it? That's not cool." The four robbers stood back to back, surrounded by the five assassins.

"Y-y-you're gonna kill us f-for robbing a bank!?" One of the robbers shouted in fear.

"Well, I suppose it's just your unlucky day that it happened to be us you all ran into." Lu replied, shifting his weight to his left hip and resting his hand there.

"Yeah," Lydia added with a sigh, "You'll be learning your lesson once, and for all."

"Let's not end their lives too quickly." Freddy suggested, cracking his knuckles, "Let's make it nice… and slow."

"Now now, Freddy. You should never play with your food." Lydia purred, a wicked grin going across her face as she slowly dragged a claw around one of the robber's cheeks. "We'll make it quick, we don't have all day. But it will be painful~."

"Fine." Freddy scoffed, "Bon, do the honors and start us off."

"With pleasure." Bon replied, firing one of his plasma guns into one of the robber's eyes. The shot individual screamed in agony, the plasma quickly melting away at the skin, muscle, nerves, and bone. The man flailed, clawing at his face in desperation for the pain to cease. Freddy chuckled and stomped his foot on the man's chest, placing more pressure using his heel. The man continued to scream, tightly gripping onto Freddy's boot. The screaming finally ceased as the plasma dissipated, melting through the robber's skull entirely.

"That's one." Lu said softly, looking to the remaining three robbers, who were quaking in fear where they stood.

"P-please! S-spare us!" One of the men begged, dropping to his knees, "W-we understand what we did was wrong! Please, d-don't kill-" The robber was cut off from Freddy kicking him backwards, pushing him onto his back as he stepped on his forehead.

"You should have thought about that before you robbed that bank." Freddy whispered, his tone was deadly and deep. The bear pulled a kunai from his waist pouch, swiftly throwing it into the man's chest. The robber groaned, grabbing the hilt in attempt to pull the knife out. Freddy scoffed and stepped on the hilt, keeping the kunai still. The man whimpered, looking Freddy right in his eyes. The bear's bright blue eyes filled with sadistic, merciless, pleasure.

"Let me hear you scream." The bear hummed, applying pressure to the knife, pushing deeper into the man's chest. With every centimeter that the blade moved, the man screamed louder and louder, tears flooding from his eyes.

"I'm so sick of you fools believing you can do what you want without any repercussions." Freddy snarled, stomping his foot downward and pushing the blade completely through. "Every action has a consequence." Two robbers remained, both standing back to back in utter terror.

"Would you like to, Lu?" Lydia asked the panda. Lu frowned minutely, shrugging his shoulders as he took a few steps forward. The panda gripped one of the robber's throat, who gagged at his grip. Lu furrowed his brow, letting out a quick sigh before quickly tightening his grip, completely ripping the man's esophagus from under his skin. Bonnie looked away for a moment, covering his mouth.

"Okay… th-that was a bit much, Lu…" The bunny groaned, gagging softly, trying not to throw up.

Lu chuckled lightly, "I apologize. I wanted it over quickly." Lydia looked toward the last robber then back to Yorokobi.

"Would you?" The feline asked.

Yorokobi shook his head, "N-no, thank you, ma'am. A-all yours." Lydia looked back to the robber, purring lightly as her claws slowly rose from her fingers. The man shook fearfully, sweating as the feline grew closer. Lydia held the man's face, gently tapping his temples with her claws. The feline grinned largely as she pressed into the man's skin with her claws, gliding down his face. The man screamed, attempting to push the feline away. Gradually, his strength failed as Lydia dug her claws deeper into his skin. The screams gradually ceased, the feline taking a step back as the body lifelessly fell to the ground.

"Easy~." She hummed, flicking the blood from her fingers.

"Well… that was fun." Bon beamed, his large ears bouncing lightly as he nodded his head.

"They're screams always make it more fun." Lydia agreed. Yorokobi was silent. Unlike the other four, he didn't exactly find enjoyment in killing. He would usually immobilize enemies for his team, allowing them to carry out the deadly deeds.

"Feeling alright, Kobi?" Bon asked him.

Yorokobi smiled minutely, "Yeah. A little queasy, but I'm okay." Freddy looked back toward the bank, finding a massive hole in the building.

"At least we don't have to worry about expenses." The bear mused aloud.

"I'm almost certain that if we were getting paid for this, we would have to." Lu added. The crowds of people gradually began to return, grouping around the assassin team.

"Hey! People!" Bon spoke up, turning toward the crowd, "If you can't handle gore, please don't come any closer! We don't need blood and vomit." Freddy chuckled softly, his eyes scanning through the crowds. He narrowed his eyes, noticing something familiar. The bear sprinted toward the crowd, slipping by his team.

"Freddy!? What are you doing!?" Lydia shouted. Freddy growled, pushing through the crowd as suddenly jumped back, suspending another bear in the air.

"You!" Freddy yelled, "You're that thief from last night!"

"H-hey! Put me down!" Harley exclaimed, lightly kicking his feet as he searched for solid ground.

"You got lucky last night, you bastard. I'm not about to let that happen again!" Freddy growled, tightening his grip on the bear's purple hoodie.

"Let go of me! I don't know you well enough for you to be touching on me like that!" Harley shouted, kneeling Freddy in the stomach. Freddy staggered backwards, dropping Harley in the process. The lighter brown bear grinned, shaking his head as he shook his hair back into place.

"That's much better." Harley beamed, his sharp teeth gleaming.

"This is the guy you lost to?" Bon asked, grabbing his plasma shooters.

"Yeah, but stay out of it. All of you." Freddy said, "I want to tear this guy apart on my own."

"Tear me apart!? Haha!" Harley laughed turning around and slapping his butt, "You can try! But you won't get far! Hahaha!" Freddy growled, clenching his fists.

"He seems cocky." Lydia said softly.

"And I'm gonna fix that." Freddy snarled, assuming his fighting stance. Harley chuckled softly, his green eye and blue eye staring straight into Freddy's blue ones. The taller bear pulled his mask over his mouth, a light purple, sharp toothed grin printed on the mask, similar to his normal grin, replacing his mouth. The crowd of people behind Harley began to scatter again, quickly moving away from the area. Freddy growled as he sprinted toward Harley, throwing a punch at the taller bear. Harley dodged the attack, maintaining his toothy grin. Freddy stopped instantly, pulling his elbow back and nailing the bear in his cheek.

"Aahh!" Harley uttered, "I forgot you were fast enough to do that!"

"Don't underestimate me!" Freddy yelled, throwing another punch. Harley sidestepped the punch, throwing one of his own. Freddy ducked under the taller's fist, grabbing his arm. Freddy then threw Harley over his shoulder. Harley laughed as he straightened his arm out, following the flip as he kicked Freddy in the chin. Freddy groaned, stepping back as he let go of Harley. The taller bear continued to laugh, punching Freddy in the gut, then kicking him across the face. Freddy's head followed the force, blood spurting from the bear's mouth.

"Hahahaha!" Harley laughed boisterously, pulling away from the shorter bear. "Some assassin you are!" Freddy was silent, letting out a sigh as he stood back up to his full height.

"I said…" Freddy murmured.

"Huh? What are you saying?" Harley asked, lowering his head to stare Freddy in the eye. A loud metal slashing sounded, earning Harley's attention.

Freddy ejected his arm blades as he lifted his head, "Don't! Underestimate me!" The shorter bear swung his fist toward Harley, who quickly ducked under the blades. The sharp weapons narrowly sliced hair from Harley's head before he jumped back in surprise.

"That almost took my head off!" He shouted. Freddy growled and ran toward Harley, who carefully watched his movement as he attempted every swing Freddy made. The bear seemed to attack recklessly, blindly in fact. Throwing punch after punch and kick after kick, but he was relentless, seemingly as if he would never tire. Harley began to slow down, groaning as he attempted to block the attacks instead of completely dodging them.

"Grraghh! Haagghh! Yaagghh! Haaggh!" Freddy exclaimed with every attack, the blades on his arms growing closer and closer to Harley's body. Harley shouted angrily as he grabbed Freddy's arms. Both bears developed the same tactical idea, and simultaneously slammed their foreheads together. Blood began to trickle down from their heads, both bears glaring each other other, locking each other's arms in others stood watch, some of them in awe. The two bear growled, neither of them moving an inch. Suddenly, the both of them jumped backwards, lunging toward each other once more. The both of them mashed their fists together on their first attack, throwing a punch with their free arm and punching each other in the face simultaneously. The two bears lurched backwards, groaning. Freddy yelled as he tackled Harley to the ground, punching him across the face repeatedly. Harley cried out angrily as he lifted his knees, launching Freddy backwards. The taller pinned Freddy against the wall, punching him in his stomach thrice before punching him across the face. With a painful groan, Freddy backflipped onto the wall, knocking Harley back as he kneed him in the chest. The two bears continued to fight relentlessly, exchanging blow after blow. As they fought, the sound of sirens could gradually be heard growing closer and closer. At that moment, Freddy and Harley stood a few feet away from each other, glaring at one another and panting heavily, bruised and bloodied. Freddy's team glanced behind them to see police cars closing in.

"This should be fun." Lydia sighed, resting her hands on her hips. The police cars surrounded the area the the fighters stood on, Freddy and Harley in the middle. The officers exited their cars and pulled out their weapons, aiming it at the six individuals. Then, a black wolf climbed out of the nearest police cruiser, a stern expression on her face.

"About time you made enough commotion that the entire city could hear you." The wolf officer said. Freddy attempted to catch his breath, standing up to his full height as he held his arm.

"Who the hell are you?" The bear snarled.

"Hmph." The officer uttered in response, "Some mouth you got." Freddy grimaced minutely, maintaining eye contact with the wolf. The officer looked to the left of Freddy, noticing Harley. Her eyes widened upon seeing him, a grin coming to her face.

"It's you!" She shouted, pointing at the bear. Harley chuckled softly, obscuring the pain he felt at the moment.

"Hey, Officer Hilary! Long time no see!" The purple hooded bear greeted the officer.

"Finally! You are all mine! You aren't going anywhere this time!" The wolf growled loudly, clenching her fists.

"What's going on here…?" Bon muttered in confusion.

"You two… know each other…?" Freddy asked Harley.

"Oh yeah, Hilary and I…. go waaaay back." Harley answered, still panting lightly.

"And you're on your way back to prison!" Hilary exclaimed.

"Aww, trust me, I'd love to, Hilary. But I have other plans already set up!" Harley replied, grinning as he rubbed the back of his head, "If I could take a raincheck, that'd be great!"

"Don't play games with me, you freak!" Hilary retorted as she began to run toward Harley. Suddenly, two kunai knives stuck the wolf's jacket to the front of one of the police cruisers. Hilary stared at the knives in shock, looking toward Freddy to find him standing with his hand out, having been the one to throw the weapons.

"This guy is no longer your worry, wolf girl." The bear said, standing proudly, "He won't be going to prison because he will never make it there. He is now my enemy, and my target to kill."

"Who the hell do you think you are!?" Hilary shouted, attempting to free herself.

"I'm an assassin. I work with the law and above it." Freddy replied forcefully, walking back toward his team. "Get out of here, Harley. But remember this: you will die by my hand."

Harley chuckled and shook his head, "Heavy threats, Fazbear. Let's see you carry them out."

* * *

 **A/N: Aaaaand the story continues! We needed things to start getting underway a little quickly here, Grumpy and I have plenty of ideas we wanna get to! Haha! These two teams are on complete opposites of the spectrum. In this corner, we have the assassin team of TDODT, Team 7! Aaaand, in the other corner, we have Harley and his Thief Group! This is going to be one interesting fight, so I advise that you all stick around! Things are gonna get bloody! Hahahaha! Enjoy! Leave a review and tell us what you think! It would be greatly appreciated! Thank you! Until next time, live life like an Xplosion! JFlare and Grumpy, out! :DD**


	3. Thieves

Thieves

"Did you just allow him to escape!? Are you insane!?" Lydia shouted, forcefully gripping Freddy's shoulder. Freddy was silent, standing completely still with his back turned to Lydia. The purple feline growled as she walked around the bear, "I'm talking to you, you bastard!" Freddy panted lightly, his eyes dull as he lightly shook his head.

"I'm… I'm…" Freddy muttered. The brown bear lifted his head more, his eyelids gradually falling as he lost his balance. Freddy lost consciousness and fell backward. Lydia sighed as she quickly stepped forward, grabbing the bear by his shirt and gently laying him to the ground.

"Did he just pass out!?" Bon cried.

"From exhaustion, yes." Lydia answered, folding her arms in annoyance.

"That's not exactly surprising, he was fighting that thief with every inch of his being." Lu added.

"And the dumbass overexerted himself." Lydia scoffed, shaking her head.

Yorokobi walked toward Hilary, pulling the kunai Freddy had thrown from her jacket, "Sorry about all that." The large bear said softly. Hilary growled, forcefully pulling her arm back as she glared at the other assassins.

"We apologize for the trouble this has caused," Lu spoke up, "We're just simply doing our job."

"You're doing a real lousy job." Hilary scowled, turning her back to the assassins.

"Well, you're not doing too much better, considering that you've seemed to have that guy escape you countless times." Bonnie retorted, a sly grin on his face.

Hilary growled, "Just stay out of my way. All of you!"

"Stay out of ours, and we shouldn't have any problems." Lydia added, her voice rather calm at the moment. Hilary scoffed, stepping into her cruiser before she and the other officers left the area.

"Come on, let's get Freddy back to HQ." Lydia said, walking ahead of the other four.

"You're not going to carry Freddy?" Bon asked.

Lydia turned her head, a scowl on her face as she glanced down at the bear, then to Bon, "Hell, no." The purple feline continued to walk, leaving the other four behind.

Lu furrowed his brow, looking toward Bon, "Why did you expect her to carry Freddy?"

"I didn't," Bon replied, "Freddy farts in his sleep and I just thought it would so funny if he farted while she was carrying him." Lu stared at Bonnie in confusion, before he reluctantly smiled and laughed.

"That's not funny, I really shouldn't be laughing." The panda chuckled, shaking his head. "But that probably would be a little funny."

"I know right!" Bon beamed in response, grinning largely. Yorokobi began to laugh as well, the three of them imagining the situation.

"We should get moving before Lydia leaves us behind." Lu chortled, shaking his head.

"Freddy's pretty heavy…" Bon murmured, "He isn't entirely muscle, you know."

"I'll carry him." Yorokobi said, picking Freddy up and holding him on his back, letting Freddy's arms rest on his shoulders.

"Piggyback ride, sweet! Too bad he's not awake to enjoy it." Bon chuckled.

"He probably wouldn't enjoy it if he were awake." Lu responded, walking ahead of the other two.

"You're probably right." Yorokobi and Bon agree simultaneously before the three broke into laughter again. Team 7, with one unconscious team member, made their way back to TDO.

* * *

Take. Just take, take, and take some more. When they say the world is your oyster, it's the truth. Take what you want. Doesn't matter what. Take for your benefit. Doesn't matter if it doesn't belong to you. Make some money, make yourself happy, make yourself proud. There's something you need? Something you want? Something you can't live without? Take it. Hidden, or in plain sight. Just take it. Nothing else matters. No _one_ else matters. Just look out for number one.

Harley hurried toward the outskirts of the city, panting lightly as he ran. He was minutely exhausted from his battle with Freddy, but not nearly as much as his opponent was. Harley was honestly surprised that he had even met someone like Freddy. Someone so capable of keeping up with him, fighting him and exchanging powerful blows that so closely resembled that of his own. It shocked him, almost frightened him. He had never fought anyone with power similar to his own. It swelled within the bear, angering him.

Harley eventually grew closer to a house just outside the ChromAfton city, a small smile going across his face as it grew near. The bear slowed his speed as he came to the house, pulling his mask from his face as he came to a brisk walk. With a sigh, Harley pushed the door open and walked in.

"I'm back." Harley announced as he walked in, closing the door behind himself.

"Harley! Welcome back!" a sweet female voice called from afar.

"Hey, Chi…" Harley murmured, walking into the family room and plopping face first onto the couch. A yellow chicken walked into the room, stopping once she saw Harley on the couch.

"Are you alright?" She asked, taking a few steps forward.

"Peachy…" Harley answered, his face in one of the pillows. Before Chi could speak again, two other individuals rushed into the room.

"Harley!" a purple bunny and red fox exclaimed as they ran in. The bear groaned in response.

"What's yer problem, boy?" The fox asked, standing beside Harley.

"Tired, Felix." Harley answered, still holding his face in the pillow.

"Tired? Ye never get tired over small missions. What's wrong with ye?" Felix probed.

Harley sat up, running a hand through his hair, "I fought with someone… someone new."

"Harley, stop beating around the bush and tell us." the purple bunny said.

"Okay, okay, geez, Bonnie." Harley said softly, "There's this assassin bear named Freddy. He was the one that held me up when I was stealing that diamond. And we ended up fighting in the middle of the street about a half an hour ago."

"That's why you're tired? But no one can keep you with you." Bonnie asked.

"That's the issue." continued Harley, "Freddy was able to keep up with me. He was just as fast, just as strong, and thought just like I did. He was… almost like a clone of me…" Bonnie sat down by Harley, putting an arm around the bear.

"Aah, don't worry about it, Harley." The purple bunny said, gently moving Harley's hair to the side. "I'm sure you'll be able to get him next time."

Chi narrowed her eyes, "Bonnie, get off him like that."

"Relax, Chi. I'm not going to hurt him." Bonnie returned, patting Harley's back.

"Aye, but Bonnie's right." Felix agreed, "Yer gonna get him next time. And we'll be thar to help ya! We'll kick his ass!"

"Yeah, sure. But he has a team too." Harley replied, "They're a team of assassins. Five members. I wouldn't be surprised if he was the leader."

"No matter! We'll still beat em all up!" Foxy said, punching the palm of his right hand with a fist. Harley fell silent, lowering his head.

"Thanks guys," he murmured, "But I really just want to rest right now…"

"Alright then." Chi replied, "We'll let you rest. Sleep well, Harley." Harley nodded as he laid his head on the couch pillow, closing his eyes. The three stepped away from the couch, eyes glancing back to the bear. They each there for Harley, and were more than prepared to fight by his side.

A few hours had passed before Harley awoke. The bear sat up on the couch, rubbing the side of his head as he regained consciousness.

"Oh, Harley. You're up." Chi's voice said sweetly as she walked into the room, "How do you feel?"

"Much better now…" Harley answered, cracking his neck.

Chi smiled, "That's good to hear."

"Hey, Chi, I was thinking…" Harley continued, "About that Freddy guy… his team can't be far behind him, right?"

Chi sighed softly, "Harley, why are you getting so worked up about this?"

"Because, Chi, he was able to keep up with me." Harley answered, a little more forceful than before, "No one has ever been able to do that, besides my dad. And I've never even met this Freddy guy before that other night with the diamond mishap."

"Harley, you need to stop letting this bother you so much." Chi replied, "As we said earlier, you've got us, we'll be there to back you up."

"But he had a team too, Chi." Harley responded, furrowing his eyebrows minutely, "And they have to be close to his level. What if they somehow overpower us?"

"That won't happen, Harley." Chi said, "When we work together, nothing can stop us. When this is all over, we will come out on top. We always do." A small smile went across Harley's face, his ears wiggling his he grew happier.

"Thank you, Chi. I needed that." The bear beamed lightly.

Chi patted Harley's shoulder, smiling at him before she stood up, "You're welcome, Harley. We're all here for you. Now, let's get you something to eat."

"Heh, sweet." Harley replied, licking his lips. With that, Harley followed Chi into the kitchen, finally putting his worries to rest… for now.

Soon after, the Thieves team grouped up and prepared for their next escapade. Each of them suited up were ready to head out.

"Alright, we ready?" Harley asked his team.

"You know we are, Harley." Bonnie answered with a grin.

"Aye, no matter where this assassin team be, we're gonna wreck 'em!" Felix added, pumping his fists.

Harley smiled, clenching his fists, "Yeah, they won't know what hit them." Without hesitation, the group hurried out in pursuit of a new item to steal: weaponry and digital codes for further development of their own tools and weapons. With more firepower and cyber strength, they were determined to become the most powerful thief team in the city. With only one other team standing in their way, Harley and his group were confident that they would achieve that goal. The group hurried through the streets of the city, dodging and weaving through traffic and pedestrians.

"Our first destination, TDO!" Harley called out to his team that ran by his side, "We're on our way to get some weapons. And what better place to get it than the leading tech company in the world?" The bear acquired an evil grin, growing more and more excited.

"Are we gonna blow it up!?" Felix asked ecstatically.

"We don't have to do that much damage, Felix." Harley replied with a chuckle, "But we can leave some bloody bodies for them to clean up."

"Whoo! Let's have some fun!" Bonnie laughed joyously, throwing his fist into the air. Chi chuckled softly, running just behind Harley. The group closed in on their destination, preparing to make an easy smash and grab while leaving some carnage in their wake. The thieves approached the building, Chi standing outside while Harley, Bonnie, and Felix hurried up the building, looking for entrances.

"Oh hey, why don't we go in from here." Bonnie said, pointing to a door that led to a flight of stairs.

"That's a little too obvious, Bonnie…" Harley muttered.

"Exactly, which is why no one would expect it." Bonnie replied, "Besides, we'll be taking a few lives that stand in our way, why don't we start having fun right away?" Harley and Felix glanced at each other, both beginning to grin sadistically.

"Sure, let's do it." Harley beamed, leading the other two as they rushed down the stairs. The three barged into the main area, massive grins on their faces.

"Ahoy! Are ye ready ta be gutted!?" Felix shouted, being the first to stand up. The personnel standing about were wide-eyed and fearful, backing away from the three.

"Haha, they're too scared to even answer." Bonnie beamed.

"Let's have some fun, but look for those weapons too." Harley said to his allies, clenching his fists.

"You got it, Harley." Felix growled excitedly, ready to pounce on the nearest individual. Without another second passing, chaos ensued as Harley, Bonnie, and Felix leaped about the rooms, mercilessly killing everyone they came across. The personnel screamed and ran in terror in a fruitless attempt to escape, only to be pulled back or killed from behind. The three thieves wreaked havoc within the building, the fearful screams and sadistic laughter ringing about the walls. A few moments later, an intercom went off, distributing a message around the entire building:

" _Attention! All S class teams, report to the main corridor immediately! We are losing personnel as we speak! I repeat, report to the main corridor immediately!"_ Harley looked up toward the intercom on the ceiling, grinning largely.

"We're gonna get some company, guys!" The bear announced, "Keep 'em busy while I look for the weapons!"

"Count on it!" Bonnie replied, knocking a scientist to the ground and snapping his neck. Harley chuckled as he hurried out of the room, quickly looking around as he made his way around the building. Within seconds, teams began to arrive in the main corridor, earning Felix and Bonnie's attention.

"Hey! Welcome, guys!" Bonnie greeted the teams, waving his hand, "Sorry to trash your place. We're just looking for something and once we get it, we'll be out of your hair."

"Step aside." A familiar voice said behind the assassin teams in the front, a group of five stepping up the Felix and Bonnie. Lydia, Freddy, Bonnie, Lu, and Yorokobi stood before the two.

"Oh, so ye guys must be the team Harley was talkin' 'bout." Felix said, grinning.

"And you must be Harley's douchebag friends." Freddy snarled in response.

"Haha, yup! That's us!" Bonnie laughed, stepping on one of the dead personnel that lied on the ground.

"It just wasn't enough for you all to cause trouble in the streets, you just had to come here and screw things up too." Lydia sighed, shaking her head.

"Well yeah! You guys got something we need." Bonnie replied, putting his hands behind his head.

"Freddy was merciful in letting your friend get away, but I won't allow that this time." Lydia growled. "All of you will die where you stand!"

Felix chuckled and wagged his tail, "Bring it on, pussycat~." Bonnie and Felix rushed toward the five, fearlessly charging the opposing team. Felix pounced onto Bon, pinning him to the ground with a wicked, toothy grin on his face.

"Aaghh! Get off me you wild animal, holy shit!" Bon cried, attempting to kick Felix away. Bonnie rushed toward the other four, pulling out twin sai as he slid up to them. The long haired bunny swung his weapons over the group, moving quickly as he swung his other arm to follow their dodge. Lydia, Lu, and Yorokobi quickly moved out of the way, dodging Bonnie swift swings. Freddy stood further behind, his eyes darting around the room.

"One of them is missing." He murmured.

"Freddy, look out!" Yorokobi shouted. Freddy looked forward to Bonnie lunging at him with his sai. The bear sidestepped to the left, grabbing Bonnie's arm and powerfully punching him across the face, effectively launching the bunny backward.

"One of them is missing!" Freddy exclaimed angrily. Bonnie caught himself, his eyes wide as he rubbed his cheek.

"Harley wasn't kidding…" The purple bunny mused, "This guy is for real. He packs a punch."

"It's Harley." Freddy growled, looking around, "Keep them busy! I'm gonna find that jackass!"

"Freddy, do not go after him on your own! Get back here!" Lydia shouted after the bear. Freddy ignored the cat, sprinting out of the main corridor as he searched for Harley. The bear ran with an angered and determined expression, gradually becoming a raged filled grimace. Lydia, Lu, and Yorokobi fought Bonnie and Felix off while Bon snuck off, following Freddy.

"Bonnie! Not you too!" Yorokobi called.

"Freddy can't win this fight on his own! You're three v two! You'll do fine!" Bon shouted back, running down the same hall Freddy went. Bon ran off, leaving Yorokobi, Lu, and Lydia to fight. The purple bunny panted lightly as he sprinted, looking from side to side as he glanced between corridors and hallways.

"Come on, Freddy. Where are you?" He whispered to himself, pumping his fists as he continued to sprint. Bon came to the end of the hall, finding a large room to his right. He sprinted toward the room, stopping as he entered. The bunny gasped, his eyes wide from the sight he saw. Freddy laid on the ground, blood spilled around his head. Bon's breathing swiftly increased in speed, his eyes shaking in disbelief. The purple bunny looked up to see Harley standing above Freddy, holding a pistol in his right hand.

"Hahahaha…. Hahahahahaha!" The bear laughed maniacally, "No matter how strong you are, a bullet to the head will shut ANYONE down! HAHAHAHAAHA!" Bon stood completely still, fear, worry, sadness, hatred swelling within him. Tears began to appear in the corner of his eyes; unable to speak, and unable to move. The bunny's right ear twitched when he heard the pistol cock.

"Hehehahahah!" Harley cackled, pointing the gun at Bon's head. "You're next~."

* * *

 **A/N: Aaaaaand, drama! Whooo! Things are happening, things are occurring, people are bleeding, people are dying! Hahaha! The story is going to continue to get more and more interesting! Hopefully, more and more fun, as well! Grumpy and I really hope you guys are still enjoying the story! Leave a review and tell us what you think! We would greatly appreciate it! Until next time, live life like an Xplosion! JFlare and Grumpy out! :D**


	4. Secrets

Secrets

Bon remained completely frozen, the tears in Bon's eyes began to fall, his face illustrating complete and utter disbelief. The purple bunny's face began to twitch with fury, lowering his head as his sorrowful expression gradually became one of rage. Bon clenched his fists as he lifted his head, his deep maroon eyes meeting with Harley's green and blue ones.

"You… you…" Bon uttered, turning toward Harley.

"Aww, did I make you angry? Hahaha!" The bear returned, pressing the pistol against Bon's forehead, "I'll put that rage to rest for you!" Bon was silent as he raised a fist, his sorrow beginning to overcome his anger, his face became contorted with anguish as the tears continued to fall.

"Oh, I didn't just make you angry… I've broken you~..." Harley hummed, chuckling sadistically. "Time to put you out of your misery."

"BON!" Freddy's voice screamed. Bon gasped, blinking as he spun around, finding Freddy on his feet with his normal angered expression. "What are you doing just standing still like that?! Pay attention!"

"F-Freddy…" Bon uttered, his bottom lip quivering as he once again became overwhelmed with emotion.

"Dude, why are you crying?!" Freddy growled, "We have a battle to fight, can you pay attention!?" Before Bon did anything else, the purple bunny threw his arms around the bear, sobbing softly.

"I th-thought… I s-saw you… y-you were d-d-dea-"

"That was an illusion, Bon." Freddy interjected, keeping his eyes locked on Harley, who watched the two with an arched eyebrow. "He did one of those on me earlier, they're pretty convincing. But I'm okay, turn around and focus, now that you're here."

Bon quickly shook his head as he pulled away from Freddy, wiping the tears from his eyes, "Right. S-sorry, I got all emotional."

"It's fine. It's fine." Freddy said, maintaining his focus on their enemy.

"Are you two done yet? So we can get on with this?" Harley snarled.

"Yeah, yeah, let's go!" Bon urged. Freddy assumed his fighting stance, as did Harley. Freddy lunged toward Harley, pulling out a kunai as he quickly closed the gap between them. Harley sidestepped to the right, pushing Freddy's hand out of the way. Freddy quickly retaliated by tossing his kunai into the air and planting his feet on a nearby wall, throwing more punches and kunai swipes. Harley dodged the attacks, his eyes swiftly watching each of Freddy's attacks. Bon pulled out his plasma guns, aiming carefully as he watched the two fight. Freddy grunted with every attack, moving quickly to keep Harley's attention. Bon smirked as a clear shot became apparent, quickly reacting and pulling the trigger. A massive blast of blue hot plasma flew at Harley. The taller bear glanced to Bon's direction, noticing the plasma blast as he ducked narrowly ducked under it, dodging another one of Freddy's attacks as well. This left Harley open. Freddy quickly took the opportunity and kicked Harley in the stomach, slamming his back onto a wall. The bear threw a kunai right after the kick. Harley grunted as he hit the wall and moving his head away from the knife, the blade grazing his cheek. Bon then fired again, missing by a few centimeters. Harley grunted as he planted his feet onto Freddy's chest, kicking him away.

Freddy hit the ground heavily, rolling over to his back as he growled, "Bon! Where's your aim!?"

"S-sorry!" Bon replied, firing a couple more times. Harley dodged the shots, his eyes glancing between the purple bunny and dark brown bear. Freddy hurried toward Harley, the lighter bear frowning as his situation seemed to grow more and more difficult to handle. Bon continued to fire are Harley, who's movements were gradually becoming sloppy, attempting to dodge both Freddy's attacks and Bon's plasma blasts.

"Graghh! Haaggh!" Freddy shouted, punching, kicking, and swinging at Harley. The thief grunted as he dodged and blocked Freddy's attacks, frantically looking for an opening. Freddy fought relentlessly, giving Harley no breathing room. Harley's movements grew slower and and sloppier, losing its once elegant form.

"Keep it up, Bon! He's getting tired!" Freddy exclaimed, throwing punch after punch and kick after kick. Harley grunted as he attempted to get away from the bear. Freddy growled and grabbed Harley's wrist, kneeing him in the stomach before pinning him against a wall.

"You're done! Wh-what the-!?" Freddy cried, backing away from Harley. The taller bear slowly slid to the floor, snoring lightly as he sat there. "D-did he j-just… fall asleep?" Bon walked up to Freddy, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Falling asleep in the middle of a battle, huh…?" Bon chortled, "Sure makes our job easier." Freddy narrowed his eyes, growling softly. Bon suddenly threw his arms around Freddy once more, "I'm really glad you're okay."

"Alright, thanks, dude. Enough with the hugging." Freddy said, patting the bunny's back.

Bon chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head, "Hehe, sorry."

"Let's get the guy to the others." Freddy said, picking Harley up and placing him over his shoulder. Bon nodded and followed Freddy back to the main corridor. Freddy and Bon walked into the main corridor, finding the area in shambles.

"Damn… they wrecked the place." Bon muttered.

"They're thieves, don't even know the meaning of the word decency." Lydia snarled.

"Speaking of the thieves, we actually captured one of them!" Bon announced, pointing to Harley, who was still sound asleep on Freddy's shoulder.

"He's asleep?" Lu questioned.

"Yup, he legit fell asleep while we were fighting him." Bonnie answered, resting his fists on his hips.

"We need to put a special type of cuffs on this guy." Freddy spoke up, glancing at the fatigued Harley, "He's not like the others."

"Special? What do you mean special?" Yorokobi asked, tilting his head.

"Get electrical ones. The shocks will keep him tired. Just make sure they don't hurt too much." Freddy answered, "I need some questions out of him."

"Alight the. Electrical cuffs, coming right up." Lu said as he marched off. Freddy nodded and carried Harley to a nearby cell on the other end of the building. He placed the taller bear on the ground in the corner farthest from the bars. With a sigh, the bear turned away and closed the bars behind him, turning on the electrical current that surged through the metal bars. Harley let out a soft groan, catching Freddy's attention. The brown bear kept his back turned to Harley as he looked back at him within the cell.

"Hmph." He uttered, walking off from the area.

"This is going to be a joy to clean up." Bonnie murmured sarcastically.

"Quit whining and start working." Lydia ordered, "The faster we finish, the more time we'll have to rest."

"Yes, ma'am." Yorokobi said softly before he started walking about the main corridor, picking up large amounts of debris. Lu and Bonnie helped clean up as well. Lydia let out a sight as she followed suit.

* * *

Half the day is gone and things at the TDODT headquarters are slowly getting back into order. The attack of the thieves had thrown the team quite off track and a multitude of individuals and personnel were lost. The Commander had decided to hold a meeting with the skilled fighters of the foundation. Commander Kindreth explained to them that with the thieves breaking and entering the facility, it compromises the faith the citizens of the city have toward the foundation. It makes them seem incapable of protecting themselves.

"And if we are incapable of protecting ourselves, why in the world would they want us to protect them and their lives?" The Commander elaborated, emotion in his voice. "As the Technological Development Organization Defense Team, we have a job to do. Our job is to protect the citizens of this city, uphold the order of the city, maintain a trustful relationship between the city and the organization, and assume our position of authority by enforcing the law. We cannot and _will not_ allow anything to compromise the trust the citizens have toward us. No event similar to what occurred today shall ever occur again! Do I make myself clear?!"

"Sir, yes, sir!" The personnel all responded in unison.

The Commander nodded and turned his back to the foundation members, "You are dismissed." The personnel walked out of the room and back to their rightful positions. Freddy and his team came out around the middle of the crowd of people.

Lydia sighed in an annoyed manner, shaking her head, "Just great. Just! Great!"

"Hey, hey, calm down Lydia. It's not the end of the world," Yorokobi said softly, "Sure, the Commander got a little mad at us all, but it's not too big of a deal."

"I think she's more upset about our perfect track record." Bon said nonchalantly, holding his hands behind his head.

"Not just that!" Lydia snarled, "We have a job to do and this failure weakens the trust the Commander has for us! We cannot let this happen again! CAN. NOT. Am I understood!?"

"Yeah, Lydia, we got it," Lu said, holding his hands up in a defensive manner, "We understood it when the Commander said it. There's no need for you to get hot headed as well. We are a team; as long as we remain level headed and cooperative, we'll be just fun." Lydia glanced to the panda, sighing and shaking her head.

"Lu's right! We can do this!" Yorokobi added, pumping his fists, "Just a minor set back! We got this!"

"We need to find out what those thieves want with us. And get them off the streets," Lydia spoke up again as she looked to Freddy, "You captured one of them. Talk to him. See what you can get out of him. We'll torture the freak if we need to." The lavender feline turned away, heading to her quarters.

Bon folded his arms with a pouting expression, "Geez, that cat really needs to relax sometimes."

Freddy scoffed inwardly, "I'm going to go speak with that dude we captured. Watch my back."

"You don't really need anyone to watch your back, you know. It's not like-"

"We're not supposed to talk to him yet. The actual investigators are." Freddy interjected the bunny.

"Oh, shit. Okay." Bon replied.

"Please, be careful. We don't need to get into anymore trouble." Lu warned the two. Freddy simply nodded before he walked toward the stairs, Bon following close behind. The brown bear and purple bunny made their way past the personnel toward the cells. The two walked for about five minutes before they arrived at the cells. Freddy stopped at the entrance and turned to Bon.

"Stay here and watch for anyone walking by. Dissuade them from coming in." Freddy told him. Bon gave Freddy a two finger salute and nodded. The bear walked into room, walking by multiple cells with several other inmates. Freddy's expression was blank as he glanced around, noticing the convicts silently sitting in their cells. The bear let out a sigh as he continued walking. A few moments later, he found their newest entry. The light brown bear sat silently with his head in his arms that he rested on his knees. Freddy leaned on the wall next to the cell, tapping his finger against it. The light brown bear looked up, looking to Freddy.

"Hey, inmate." Freddy greeted him.

"I have a name…" The bear murmured.

"You really think I care?" Freddy replied, rolling his eyes.

"My name is Harley." The bear stated, sitting forward.

"Okay, great. Look-"

"What's your name?" Harley interjected.

"Freddy! Stop interrupting me!" Freddy snarled. Harley pouted, sitting back again.

"I'm guessing you want something from me? That must be why you're here, right?" The light brown bear said, crossing his legs and wresting his hands on his ankles.

"You're smarter than you look," Freddy growled.

"Thank you! W-wait…"

"Listen! I've got some questions," Freddy told Harley, "And since you're not going anywhere anytime soon, you're going to answer every single one of them."

"Okay, that's understandable." Harley replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"You mean… you're not going to argue?" The assassin bear returned in question.

Harley tilted his head, "Well, you just said it. I can't go anywhere so why make things more difficult?" Freddy blinked in slightly surprise, he surely wasn't expecting that level of cooperation.

"Good choice." Freddy chuckled softly.

"So, what do you wanna ask?" Harley asked, putting his cuffed hands behind his head.

"Well, first, who are you all? You and your group of thieves." Freddy began, standing up straight again.

"Well, as you know now, my name's Harley. And my friends are Felix, Bonnie, and Chi." Harley explained, "We're a thief group."

"Okay… and what do you want with TDO?" Freddy asked, folding his arms.

"Well, we came here to get some new weapons and ammo." Harley answered, "We started to run out of stuff so we decided to come to the place that's chock full of weapons."

Freddy sighed, "Makes sense. But what is it you're trying to steal?"

"Well, we're looking for these crystals called Light Diamonds." Harley said.

"What do they look like?" Freddy implored.

"They come in multiple pastel type colors and glow really bright." Harley answered.

Freddy furrowed his eyebrows in thought, "Like the one in that building downtown that someone was trying to steal last month…"

"Haha, oh yeah! That was you!" Harley laughed softly. Freddy looked back up, glaring at the light brown bear.

"Yeah, and that was you who escaped. Freakin' twice!" The dark brown growled. Harley continued to laugh, turning around and laying his legs up against the wall and his head to the ground.

"Hehe, it's funny how many times we've seen each other in such a short amount of time~!" Harley beamed.

"And every time I see you I hate you more and more." Freddy growled.

"Aww, that's sad to hear. I don't hate you, even though you imprisoned me." Harley replied, his ears falling by his head.

"Oh, please." Freddy scoffed, turning his back to the light brown bear. "Anyway… how long has your team been around? Apparently, you've never been picked up on our radars."

Harley shrugged his shoulders, "I dunno, there were plenty of thieves before me." Freddy dropped his shoulders, turning back to the light brown bear.

"Thieves before you…" He repeated, "Does… does the name 'Masked Thief' ring any bells?"

"Yeah! That was my dad!" Harley answered gleefully, rolling over to his belly, "Before I took the name, of course."

"Wait, you're the Masked Thief?!" Freddy asked in shock.

"Yup! That's me!" Harley answered, jumping to his feet, "Right after my dad retired, I took his place!"

"You!? But you act like a damn child! How are you even worthy of that name?!" Freddy spat, "The Masked Thief was a terror! He was vicious and was impossible to catch! And we caught you in the third time we've seen you!"

Harley giggled softly and awkwardly, rubbed the back of his head, "I didn't say I was as great as my dad."

Freddy growled audibly, "That's for damn sure… So what do you want those magic diamonds for?"

"Light Diamonds." Harley corrected him, "And I need them to save my home."

"Save your home? The fu-"

"The Shadow Realm." Harley clarified. "Those Light Diamonds help keep the Shadow Realm balanced. Without them, it's practically chaos over there. I need to get them all back." Freddy backed away from the cell, clenching his fists.

"You're a Shadow?" The brown bear questioned.

Harley nodded, "Yeah, I am. Well, half-Shadow. But that's not important. What's important is that my home needs help." Freddy fell silent, keeping his distance from the cell.

"It's a good thing I told them to keep you in stronger cuffs." The bear snarled, "Look, I'm sorry about your home, but you're way too dangerous to let roam around on the streets."

"I know… most people are too afraid. It would cause too much trouble." Harley sighed, "But it's okay. I'll find a way to save my home."

"Psst! Freddy! Someone's coming!" Bon called into the cells. Freddy glanced toward the purple bunny then back at Harley. The light brown bear simply blinked, smiling a little. Freddy narrowed his eyes, stepping away from the cell. The brown bear walked out of the cell rooms, following Bonnie back up the stairs and toward their own quarters. Bon opened his door as he and Freddy walked in, closing the door behind himself.

"Whew… so… what'd you learn?" Bon asked.

"Long story short…" Freddy sighed, "That guy's a Shadow, he's the new Masked Thief, and he's in pursuit of this Light Diamonds that help keep the balance of the Shadow Realm that's apparently in turmoil right now."

Bon blinked in surprise, "W-wow… that just added a lot of elements to this whole situation real fast."

Freddy nodded, "I have a feeling we'll be coming across new things too…"

"Oh boy… this'll be fun." Bon sighed, "We gotta tell the others." Freddy nodded silently, folding his arms and looking away. "What's wrong?"

Freddy looked back to Bon, shaking his head afterwards, "N-nothing. Let's just go..."

* * *

 **A/N: Heeeeeeeyyyyyyy guys! JFlare and Grumpy again! Yaas! Yeah, it took a while but another chapter is out! We're beginning to get in the meat of the story! If you're not hyped already, trust us, you will be! Things are gonna awesome and fun fast if it hasn't already! Haha! We hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Until we meet again in the next one! Live life like an Xplosion! JFlare and Grumpy out! :D**


	5. Change of Mind

Change of Mind

A few days went by and the assassins continued about their missions and assignments, their attention remained focused majority on the safety of the city. Harley remained in TDODT's captivity, mostly silent and cooperative. The Commander, meanwhile, made absolutely certain that an infiltration anything like what Harley and the rest of the thieves were able to successfully complete would ever occur again. As the teams of TDODT continued their patrols and watched over the city, other issues were beginning to brew outside the city.

In another realm which was filled with darkness, there was a single temple on an incredibly high mountain called Zu'nA'yu. In this temple, rested a pink fox protector. She was still, quiet, and calm. Behind her sat one of the most powerful objects in the universe, a Light Diamond. It was one of many others scattered across the realms. It was this fox's duty to protect this one behind her. The fox's ears twitched when she heard a sudden noise. She slowly got to her feet, cautiously glancing around the area. The noise continued and eventually was distinguishable as voices. A conversation.

"Hmm?" She hummed thoughtfully, taking a step forward. She could faintly make out the voices, however, she took interest and wanted to figure out what the conversation was about. The female fox took a few more steps forward, tilting her head toward the source of the voices.

"The Light Diamonds will provide more than enough power to achieve this feat." She heard the voices say. The fox furrowed her eyes in disbelief. She continued to listen. "Possessing all of them will give us the power to dominate all three realms, there will be no one to oppose us." The fox blinked, shaking her head.

"No… I won't allow it." She snarled inwardly. The pink fox hurried back up her temple, staring at the Light Diamond before her. The fox then closed her eyes, exhaling slowly as her body then stood limply before the Diamond, her spirit swiftly leaving its vessel.

* * *

Back in the Earth Realm, nothing had been altered just yet; however, events unknown to mortal minds were already underway. The assassins continued their patrols around the city as a swift and soft pink light flew through the air. The light gracefully swept over the skyscrapers and busy streets of Chrom-Afton City and toward the outskirts. Outside of the city were a few forest-like areas with extremely tall trees as well as swampy areas. The pink light suddenly stopped over a small patch of grassland that was surrounded by trees. In the center of the grassland was a wooden house. The pink light descended toward the ground, gradually materializing into the pink fox it had inhabited prior. With a soft exhale, the fox had returned to her normal form as she made contact with the ground.

"Tatakai." The fox called, walking toward the wooden house. There was no response. The fox tilted her head a bit as she continued to walk, stopping once she reached the door.

"Tatakai, are you there?" She called once more, knocking on the door. Still nothing. The pink fox dropped her shoulders, placing an ear on the door. She could hear something faint, but she couldn't quite make out what it was. The fox snarled lightly, her ears lowering minutely.

"Tatakai, open this door right now! This is important!" She yelled as she pushed on the door, accidentally opening it. The fox was stunned on what she walked in to see an orange tanuki with his legs spread apart, pleasuring himself.

"Ah! Yo! N-nani o shite iru!?" ("Yo! Wh-what are you doing?!) The tanuki exclaimed covering himself with his hands and closing his legs. "Isogashii nda!" (I'm busy!)

"I don't care how busy you are! Get up and puts some pants on! This is very important!" The fox yelled angrily.

The tanuki growled, lowering his gaze, "Boku wa sukunakutomo oeru koto ga dekimasu...?" (Can I at least finish…?)

"No. Get up." The pink fox answered quickly, storming out of the small home. The orange tanuki growled once more as the door closed behind the fox. A few moments later, the tanuki stepped outside, slipping on his gray jacket.

"So, what's up, Aiko?" Tatakai asked, flipping up the collar of his jacket.

"Someone is plotting gather all of the Light Diamonds and harness the combined energy to take rule over the realms." Aiko answered, quickly getting to the point.

The orange tanuki's eyes widened a bit, "Really? It took 'em this long for someone to come up with a plan like that?"

"This isn't a joke, Tatakai." The pink fox said urgently. "I'm not certain who these people are, but regardless, they cannot get their hands on those Light Diamonds. I want you to help me keep the Light Diamonds safe."

"Great, let's play a game of find every Light Diamond across the three realms." Tatakai replied sarcastically with a smirk, tilting his head upward. "Ah, who knows, might be fun."

"Thank you. I will keep in contact." Aiko said with a nod, "Also, try not to use your free time so frivolously."

Tatakai smiled, chuckling softly, "Right, I'll save that for you~." Aiko smiled a little as well.

"Until we meet again." She said as her spirit began to dematerialize once more. Tatakai was silent as he watched Aiko's spirit dissipate, a smile growing across his face.

"Mā, ichi ni mukau jikan." (Well, time to head to the city.) The orange tanuki said with a pleasant grin. With that, Tatakai turned toward his small home and grabbed his katana, attaching it to his back. "Sā tanoshī yo~." (Let's have some fun.)

* * *

 **Meanwhile, the Team 7 was just returned to the TDODT Headquarters. The five of them walked through the doors most of them were rather relaxed.**

"Man, what a chill day." Bonnie said with his hands behind his head.

"It was rather slow, not much occurred." Lu agreed with a small nod.

"At least this gives us plenty of time to relax and have fun~!" Yorokobi hummed. Freddy was silent, he walked by his team with his arms folded and his normal scowl on his face. The bear then glanced at his team, walking off a few seconds later.

"Freddy? Where do you think you're going?" Lydia asked him.

"To get some answers." Freddy answered quickly as he continued to walk, heading toward the cells. Lydia narrowed her eyes, tilting her head a bit.

"He's probably going to go talk with our new prisoner." Bonnie mused aloud.

"I thought we weren't allowed to do that." Yorokobi replied.

"Oh, we're not. But that doesn't stop him." Bonnie chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. Freddy headed straight toward the cells, nothing deterring him. The bear walked past the cells almost furiously, looking for Harley.

"You," he said as he founded the lighter brown bear.

"Oh, hey, Freddy!" Harley replied, lifting his head. "What's up?"

"I need you to tell me more about your home." Freddy said, gripping the bars as those who were cuffed could safely grab them.

"Oh, man! Where do I even start!?" Harley replied enthusiastically.

"Well… how about you tell me why your home is in chaos?" Freddy suggested, leaning forward a little.

"W-well, the Shadow Realm lost its sun a billion years ago. They killed the sun god…" Harley began, "The truth is that no one even knows if the gods truly existed or not. It's like an apocalypse where the sun just died out. Actually… this world could eventually meet the same end."

"Wait, wait, who's the 'they' that killed the sun god?" Freddy asked, narrowing his eyes.

Harley shook his head, "Not sure… just… someone the sun god knew."

"Okay then… what about those Light Diamonds? What purpose do those serve?" The brown bear implored.

"The Light Diamonds are the final light source for the Shadow Realm." Harley said softly, "Without the Light Diamonds it's just dark and sorrowful…" Freddy remained quiet, listening with a thoughtful expression. "Without the Light, Shadows can go insane… essentially becoming Nightmares. It's like an infection that attaches itself to those who stay in such darkness for too long…" Harley fell silent, dropping his head.

"What's wrong?" Freddy asked, his normal aggressive tone dissipating. His aggression was replaced with worry and concern.

"My family… they're still in the Shadow Realm… they have to stay there… I have to help restore the Light to the Shadow Realm or they'll be consumed by the darkness too… If I lose them… I won't have anyone else to turn to for help…" Freddy stepped away from the bars, sighing as he shook his head.

"How many…?" Freddy muttered.

"Huh?"

"How many Light Diamonds are there to be collected?" Freddy clarified, keeping his tone low.

"Thirteen." Harley answered simply.

"And how many have you and your team gotten?" The brown bear questioned.

"Five of 'em." The imprisoned bear said with a nod. Freddy looked away, sighing once more. "Wh-what's the matter?"

"You, fool. I'm conflicted." Freddy retorted. Harley tilted his head minutely, staring at the assassin. Freddy turned his back to the cell, groaning as he ran a hand through his spiky hair.

"Conflicted…? Why?" Harley questioned.

Freddy groaned once more, "Okay, look… you know what you are?"

"A Shadow? Well, honestly I'm a half Shadow. But that still makes me a Shadow." Harley rambled, "But if that's not what you mean… then I'm Harley! But-"

"Shut up! You're our prisoner!" Freddy yelled.

"Oh…" Harley replied in disappointment.

"But it might not stay that way…" Freddy pondered aloud, turning his head away from the cell once more, glancing at the stairs.

Harley gasped and grinned largely, "Are you gonna let me go!?"

"Shush! Wait here…" Freddy muttered as he walked off from the cell. Harley leaned over toward the bars, watching Freddy walk. The captive bear was silent, an innocent look on his face. A few moments later, Freddy returned to the cell with Lydia behind him.

"...So I came to get you to get your perspective on this." The bear concluded, explaining the situation to the feline.

"Freddy, this is extremely dangerous." Lydia tried quickly, clenching her fists, "It's way too risky, and you know if we're caught, we are going to be in deep shit."

"I know… but he's not lying, Lydia." Freddy returned, "And I can't just let him stay stuck here while his world is in turmoil. If he can't collect those crystals, his world will be lost along with his family. We'll be no different from the bastards that are ruining this city." Lydia fell silent for a moment, turning away from Freddy.

"This isn't a simple decision, Freddy… we may lose everything we've worked to accomplish." The purple feline murmured, gritting her teeth a bit.

"Yeah, maybe… but I'm not about to be equated to the same chaotic bastards we're killing." Freddy snapped back.

Lydia sighed deeply, "Do you intend you tell the rest of our team?"

"Yes. But no other team or personnel can know." Replied Freddy. Lydia glanced at Harley who silently sat still, watching the two.

"Okay, Freddy…" The feline finally spoke, "But don't make this a habit, this is a one-time occurrence. Remember that."

Freddy hid a smile, looking to Harley, "Just watch my back… everything will go smoothly." Freddy stepped toward the bars, reaching his hands through them. "C'mere, Harley." Harley complied, standing up and walking toward Freddy. The assassin held the cuffs around Harley's wrists, pressing two buttons beneath the cuffs on both sides before pulling the connector between them, successfully releasing the cuffs.

"You're really gonna free me?" Harley asked in almost disbelief.

"You have a world to save." Freddy said softly, "And so do we. But we're gonna keep you under surveillance. Follow me." The brown bear walked toward the steps, Harley close behind. Lydia scowled as she folded her arms, following the two bears as well, her hips and tail swaying from side to side as she walked. Freddy kept Harley close as he walked, making sure not to attract any attention. The three made their way to the rooms, keeping Harley in there.

"You stay here for now," Freddy said, "I'm gonna get one of those trackers from upstairs."

"Get the other three while you're at it." Lydia snarled, looking to Harley.

"Got it." Freddy said before walking out, hurrying through the halls. The room was silent. Harley sat still on Freddy's bed, fidgeting with his fingers a little.

"Umm…" The light brown bear uttered, earning the feline's attention, "What made you change your mind…?"

"What?" Lydia returned with an aggressive and angered tone.

"I… y-you were going to say no to Freddy… why'd you change your mind?" Harley asked.

Lydia sighed, looking away, "He reminded me… of our purpose. That's all I'll say." Harley looked up at Lydia, innocence and wonder coating his expression. The room was filled with silence once more, Harley continued to fidget with his fingers. As time went by, each of the other Team 7 members came into the room. Freddy soon returned with the tracker as well. While there, Freddy and Lydia explained the situation to Bonnie, Lu, and Yorokobi.

"Wow, we haven't even been here that long and we're already collaborating on breaking rules." Bonnie snorted, resting his hands behind his head, "This must be a new record or something."

"It's just going to be this one thing." Freddy said, "I have this really strong gut feeling… we can trust him."

"I don't know, Freddy… this is incredibly risky." My added in a low tone, "If this fails, think of what the consequences may be."

"The worse that can happen is if we're kicked off the Defense Team. And I'm fine with that." Freddy returned, "I was an assassin before TDODT, and I'll be fine after. I have to trust my gut. Anyone else with me?" Freddy glanced at the other four, who were silent at first.

"I'm your best bud, so you know I'm with you." Bonnie said, folding his arms, "Despite how crazy I think this is."

"It's nice to see you looking at things a little more positively…" Yorokobi said softly, a small smile going across his face, "Plus, we're on a team, we should do things together. You got me on board~."

Lu sighed softly, "This is really dangerous… and could cost us a lot if we fail… but I agree with Yorokobi. We are a team and we should stick together."

"Lydia?" Freddy called her simply, looking toward her.

The purple feline rolled her eyes and turned her head, "Fine."

"Damn… I wish I had that kind of support from my team." Harley lightly interjected, earning the assassin team's attention.

"Well, don't worry about that. You have your world and family to save." Freddy said, placing the tracker on Harley's neck.

"What's this?" Harley asked, touching the small device.

"It's a tracker." Lu answered swiftly.

"It'll let us know where you are at all times." Bonnie added.

"Oh, okay. Whatever it takes." Harley replied.

Freddy backed away from Harley, folding his arms, "Alright, you're free to go. Sort of." Harley smiled and stood up, smiling.

"Thank you, Freddy. I won't forget this." The taller bear said, pumping his fists as he quickly made his way out through the window.

Lydia growled lightly as she looked to Freddy, "You better keep a close eye on him." The feline snarled as he left the room, practically steaming. The other members of the team made their way out of the room as well. As the team walked toward the Lounge, one of the personnel came up to them.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for Da Lu Xin." The man said with a focused expression.

The panda then stepped forward, "Yes?"

"There's someone here who wishes to see you." The man stated. Lu blinked and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"You got a girlfriend you didn't tell us about, Lu?" Bonnie chuckled as, Freddy, and Yorokobi headed toward the entrance of the facility.

The panda shook his head, "N-no, I don't… I'm actually confused myself. Who would this be…?"

"We're about to find out." Yorokobi beamed, "I hope they're just as friendly as you, Lu~." A few moments pass as the four assassins walk up to the entrance with two guards standing in the large corridor.

"Excuse me." Lu said as he stepped into the corridor. Suddenly the panda froze, his eyes widening.

"Hehe, well! If it isn't my favorite panda!" A loud voice exclaimed. Lu stood completely still in utter disbelief.

"Tatakai!?"

* * *

 **A/N: That feel, that feelsy feely feel when you know that the core of the story is just beginning. Things are gonna get hyped real fast guys! Keep a keen eye out for specific details that you might not wanna miss. Things just might get mysterious~. Haha! We hope you guys enjoy! Thanks so much for reading! Until next time, live life like an Xplosion! JFlare and Grumpy out!**


	6. Other Worlds

Other Worlds

Observation is important. With a watchful eye, knowledge can be attained. Maintaining attention to one's surroundings, acquiring knowledge and importance of each aspect, knowing what exactly is around you, and what you can harness. With enough awareness and enough knowledge, one can be perceived as almost all powerful…

An eight-foot-tall black bear stalked the halls, lost in thought. He held his hands behind his back, pacing back and forth. As he paced, a few armored bears, bunnies, and other types of animals marched about, on patrol. The tall black bear bit his bottom lip as he thought, his ears suddenly jolting up as he heard his name being called.

"Shutai!" a rather raspy and almost tired sounding voice called. "C'mere, man!" Shutai looked to the source of the call, making his way toward that direction. The tall black bear then found his best friend, a deep cobalt blue bunny with atrociously messy hair named Rotar.

"There you are." Rotar said, grabbing Shutai's wrist, "Akumu was looking for you."

Shutai narrowed his eyes at hearing the name, "Ugh, what does he want?"

"Man, I dunno, he just told me to come and get you." Rotar replied with a shrug. "Pretty sure it was something about your father." Shutai fell silent, his scowl becoming a more sorrowful expression. The tall black bear shook his wrist from Rotar's grip, sighing once more. "Hey man, if I were you, I'd at least check and find out what your dad wants."

"I know, I know…" Shutai replied in a low tone, shaking his head before he began walking.

"Tell me what happens though, don't leave me out o' nothin'." Rotar added as he folded his arms. Shutai kept his head low as he made his way toward his father's throne room. A multitude of thoughts ran through the bear's mind, wondering what it could be that his father could want. Despite his curiosity, he had an idea what this sudden summon would be about.

The muscular black bear stopped as he became inches from the massive door to the throne room. He let out a sigh, expecting whatever discussion was about to occur to eventually become some argument. If he knew his father, it wasn't going to be pretty. Shutai placed his hand on the handle and pushed, opening the door. The large door opened with a soft creak, the illumination of the room inside casting over Shutai's figure. Shutai's eyes wandered up a small flight of stairs, finding his father sitting on the throne. Shutai's father looked just like him, with the exception of white markings cascading over his biceps and forearms. The King of Nightmares sat on his throne, leaning toward his right with a displeased expression on his face. Shutai felt a wave of intimidation and trepidation hit him, the amount of fear a single individual could cast was almost unbelievable. It was overwhelming.

Shutai made his way toward the throne, his eyes locked on the throne before him. His steps were slow and cautious, almost as if he didn't want to agitate his father by simply being there.

"Y-you… you called me, father?" Shutai spoke up, fear coating his voice. Shutai attempted to keep his calm, knowing full well that he couldn't let his father see how fearful he was. He had to be strong… or at least simulate it.

"Yes…" The King replied. His voice was deep and monstrous, confidence and pride could be heard in his tone. The King exuded such a powerful stature, it seemed foolish to even look at him wrong. "How are you doing today, my son?" Shutai furrowed his eyebrows in slight confusion, he wasn't expecting that…

"I'm… fine. I was just hanging around… the castle. Wh-why?" The black bear replied, lowering his gaze minutely.

"I can be curious about how my own son is doing, can't I?" The King said, sitting up on his throne as a small smile went across his face. Shutai nodded slowly, clenching his fists a little. His palms were sweaty, the sheer intimidation factor that his father possessed still loomed over him.

"Is… that all you needed, father?" Shutai questioned, looking up and making eye contact with the King.

The King shook his head, "No, I'm afraid not. I need to talk to you about something, my son… something important." The King's voice lowered in tone, sounding more concerned than intimidating.

"Okay… what is it?" Shutai asked, gradually regaining his courage. The King held up a finger, his smile returning.

"Wait, my son. We're waiting for one other person." He said as he stood up. Shutai glanced back toward the doors, narrowing his eyes as he figured out who exactly they were waiting for.

"Speak of the devil." The King said softly as he walked down the steps from his throne. A deep brown bear walked into the throne room, coming up behind Shutai.

"Akumu…" Shutai snarled under his breath, making sure his father didn't hear him.

"Greetings, Prince." Akumu greeted Shutai, a nonchalant expression on his face.

"Him, father?" Shutai asked, turning to the King.

"Yes, Shutai. Akumu is my advisor, of course, he's involved." The King replied.

"A pretty lousy one…" Shutai mumbled, under his breath once more.

"Now, shall we get down to business, your Highness?" Akumu asked, clasping his hands together.

"Certainly." The King affirmed, now standing before Shutai and Akumu.

"Kiss-ass…" Shutai mused. The black bear never hated anyone. He felt that he was almost incapable of actually doing so. But Akumu… he was pretty damn close.

"Shutai, my son." The King said, "Tomorrow morning, we will be making a trip to the Shadow Realm." Shutai's expression quickly changed, becoming one of confusion and slight frustration.

"What? Why?" The young prince asked, looking up at his father.

"Shutai, our race has to realize it's potential one day, you know this." The King replied, "And that day is quickly approaching. We must be prepared for it."

"F-Father… what are you talking about? What do you mean?" Shutai continued to probe, speaking a little faster.

"My son, we've talked about this…" The King sighed, "The Shadow Realm is simply another extension of our realm waiting to be taken. And by removing the Light from that realm, we're getting closer and closer to that goal."

"Dad…" Shutai snarled, "We'd be killing them like that."

"Not all of them." The King replied, "Only some… the rest would go mad… and become just like us. Thereby strengthening our race."

"B-but, Dad-"

"Your father is simply trying to get you to understand, _dear prince_ ," Akumu interjected, stepping in front of the black bear, "Our race is superior. We always have been! And it's about time that the other realms realized that truth."

"Exactly." The King added.

"Dad! We can't do that!" Shutai returned, raising his voice, "We'd be killing innocent people! People that have nothing to do with any of this! I-it's not like our race is dying! It's the Shadows that are getting hurt out of this! What happened to the balance that the three realms are supposed to keep!?"

"There is no such balance, Shutai." The King spoke, holding his hands behind his back, "In this universe, it is either conquer or be conquered."

"But-"

"Shutai. We are Nightmares. We are the strongest race imaginable." The King continued, "In fact, we are the strongest race in existence. The other realms know so little of us… as if we don't exist. Especially the Earth Realm… their lack of knowledge will be their downfall. And the loss of the Shadows? A small price to pay for the true realization of our powerful race." Shutai was awestruck by what he heard, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He took a step back from his father, his mouth agape.

"D-Dad…" He murmured.

"And you, my son…" The King said, turning to Shutai, "You must also realize that. You are the Prince of Nightmares. You are _my son_. You have to fill your role in this as well. And one day, you will be King, and you will take my place. You will rule over the Nightmares… and the three realms. You will be my successor, Shutai. You will be the ruler of the universe."

"No… n-no…" Shutai muttered, shaking his head, stepping away from the two bears.

"No? No!? What do you mean, no!?" Akumu yelled angrily.

"I.. I-I… I w-wouldn't-"

"You are the Prince, Shutai! You HAVE to fill your role! You have no other choice!" Akumu growled, stomping toward the younger bear. "You can't be a wimp your entire life! You have shoes to fill and a persona to realize! Just as your father said, you are a Nightmare! You will rule! You need to stop being so trepidatious and grow a damn pair!"

"Akumu, that's enough." The King spoke, "However… he is right. You cannot be afraid, my son." Shutai was speechless, his face quivering in disbelief. The man he knew as the King of Nightmares, his father, seemed to all fade away. This wasn't his dad, not the one he had loved and found so powerful. Shutai shook his head, sprinting from the throne room and out the doors, panting as he ran.

"Come back you, you brat!" Akumu shouted as he prepared to run, but was stopped by the King.

"Let him go… he will learn, Akumu." The King said in a low tone, disappointment hinted in his voice. "He will learn…"

Shutai ran as quickly as he could, tears in the corners of his eyes. The black bear sprinted through the halls of the palace, gasping for air with every step.

"Sh-Shutai?" Rotar called his name as he noticed him running. Shutai sobbed as he ran, wiping his eyes. "Shutai, what's wrong!" The black bear ran right by his cobalt blue friend, leaving small tracks of tears behind him. Rotar looked at one of the water droplets, his expression was sorrowful. He needed to know what was wrong… but he knew Shutai needed time. The Prince panted as he made his way up the stairs and through several more halls, sliding his feet across the floor as he came to a halt, rushing into his room. Shutai slammed the door behind himself, panting heavily as he hit the back of his head against the door. Shutai's face quivered with sorrow, the tears continuing to fall. He looked at his hands, his vision was blurry and shaky. The black bear tightly closed his eyes as he slid to the floor, resting his head against the door as he continued to sob. He hid his face in his arms, resting them on his knees.

* * *

Aside from the Nightmare Realm was another, the Shadow Realm. This realm housed the race of Shadows as well as a mixture of some Nightmares and Phantoms. Like the Nightmare Realm, there was also a palace where royalty resided.

Harley hurried up to the palace doors, quickly knocking on it. The light brown bear stood there with his hands in his hoodie pockets, a small smile on his face. The door soon opened, revealing a purple bear.

The bear gasped and grinned, "Hey there, Harley! It's nice to see you again!"

Harley giggled softly, "Hey, Shaddy. It's been a little while."

"It certainly has! Come on in!" Shaddy replied, quickly pulling Harley inside and closing the door, "What brings you back?"

"I wanted to just come and check on things. I spent a lot of time in the Earth Realm… I wanted to make sure everything was okay." Harley said, his eyes wandering around the place.

"Aww, that's so sweet and considerate of you~." Shaddy cooed, his ears wiggling as he spoke as his cheeks began to flush a light red. "You were worried about little old us~?"

"Of course I was, Shaddy." Harley giggled. "Where's everyone else?"

"We were actually getting ready to eat! You should join us!" Shaddy said, taking Harley by the hand, "I'm sure you must be hungry, right?"

"I guess I can stay and eat." Harley replied with a warm smile.

"Yaay! Oh, everyone is going to be so excited to see you!" The purple shadow bear ushered Harley into the dining room, moving quickly, "Just wait 'till Shaffy hears about your return!" Harley giggled as he followed Shaddy.

"Go ahead and sit, I'll go get the others." Shaddy said as he lightly pushed Harley into the room, "The food will be out pretty soon too!"

"Thank you, Shaddy." Harley beamed.

"You're more than welcome, buddy!" Shaddy replied as he disappeared behind the corridor. Harley let out a quick sigh as he sat in one of the many seats. At the moment, the room was empty. The table was clean and set up with very specifically placed plates and utensils.

"Heh… Kai…" Harley murmured to himself, knowing who must have been the one to set the table. "Always so ordered…" A few moments passed, and Harley sat there patiently, looking around the room. It was brightly lit, it possessed a very welcoming and friendly atmosphere. The light brown bear felt at home. Harley's ears suddenly twitched when he heard indistinct movement. He looked toward the source of the noise as it grew louder. The faint noise became a clutter of voices. A smile went across his face as he heard the voices, recognizing them all as his family. The voices were then accompanied by faces, each of them possessing elated and excited expressions.

"Harley!" The group of Shadows and Phantoms yelled collectively, crowding around the bear.

"H-hehe… hi, guys~." Harley beamed, blushing lightly as he waved his hand. They all began to hug and kiss Harley, welcoming him back as if he were a war hero. Harley laughed and giggled as he was reunited with each of his family members, their excited voices filling Harley with joy.

Soon after all of the commotion died down, everyone was seated around the table.

"It's so good to see you again, Harley!" One voice said.

"Hehe, it's good to be back." Harley replied with a bashful grin.

"And you're as adorable as ever~!" Another added. Harley blushed brightly, giggling in response.

"Alright, alright, let the boy relax a little." A louder and more distinct voice said. Harley looked toward the source, his smile growing a little more. "How are you doing, Harley?"

"I'm doing well, Joshua~." Harley replied, wiggling his ears a little.

"Hmm, good." Joshua replied. Joshua was a massive bear, standing taller than everyone else in the room. He was quite muscular, but despite his somewhat intimidating stature, he had a very outgoing and kind personality. "How has the Earth Realm been treating you?"

"Pretty good, I actually made some new friends." Harley answered, smirking a little.

"Aside from your normal crew?" Shonnie, a lavender shadow bunny asked.

Harley nodded, "Yeah, like… five new people."

"Were they human?" Vallery, Joshua's wife, asked, tilting her head a little.

Harley shook his head, "No, they were all anthros."

"Ayy, more trustworthy." Shonnie chuckled. Nagara, a shadow bear, laughed softly.

"Well… they weren't very 'trustworthy' at first…" Harley murmured, rubbing the back of his head.

"What do you mean?" Asked Joshua.

"Um… uh, th-they kinda locked me up in prison first…" Harley admitted with a sheepish smile.

"What?! They locked you in prison!?" Vallery shouted.

"Aannd, much less trustworthy…" Shonnie murmured.

"W-well, not really. Because I was trying to get the Light Diamond, but he was held as a relic in a museum." Harley explained, "So… when I was trying to steal it, I became a target of theirs."

"I see…" Joshua murmured.

"But they let me out too." Harley added, "A-after the leader, Freddy, had a change of heart." The others fell silent, their eyes locked on Harley. "But don't worry! Everything else is fine!"

"Harley, you have to be more careful." Joshua spoke up again, "Yes, your mission is important, but you have to make sure you don't attract too much attention to yourself."

"I know, Joshua, I know…" Harley sighed softly.

"Well, we can talk about that later. Let's just relax and eat some yummy food." Shaddy said sweetly. The others agreed, their conversations dispersing as they enjoyed their food. After a while, the family finished their meal. Harley soon prepared to leave again to go back to the Earth Realm.

"We're going to miss you, Harley…" Shaddy said in a low tone.

Harley gave them all a warm smile, "I know… but I'll be back soon. Don't worry."

"Make sure you stay safe." Nagara warned, wrapping her arms around the light brown bear.

"Heh, I will, Nagara." Harley giggled softly in response.

"Come back soon, Harley." Joshua added. Harley smiled and nodded, turning toward the castle door. As Harley reached for the door, there was suddenly a rather loud yawn. Harley furrowed his eyebrows in slight confusion, turning back around.

"Y-yes?" He murmured.

"That wasn't me." Shaddy said quickly.

Joshua chuckled, "Are you finally up, Shazzu?" There was a groan as a reply. Harley looked toward the sound, finding a golden bear walking down the stairs.

"Dad…" Harley murmured, a few tears appearing in the corners of his eyes. Shazzu rubbed his eyes as he came down the stairs, noticing Harley.

"Oh, hey." Shazzu murmured. Harley quickly sprinted up the stairs, throwing his arms around Shazzu. "Hey, kid." Harley was silent, keeping a tight grip around the older bear. Shazzu smiled minutely, rubbing Harley's back.

"I missed you, dad…" Harley murmured.

"I know." Shazzu replied, running a hand through Harley's hair. "You still doing well in the Earth Realm?" Harley pulled away and nodded, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Good, keep doing it. I'm proud of you." Harley smiled, lowering his head a little. "I'll be waiting for you when you get back… If I'm not sleeping."

Harley nodded, "Okay… I'll see you later, dad." Shazzu nodded and lightly kissed Harley's cheek. The light brown bear smiled again, then hurried out the door, making his way back to the Earth Realm.

"That boy really needs you, Shazzu…" Joshua said softly. Shazzu was silent, his smile dropping.

"Yeah… I know."

* * *

 **A/N: Yeah, we know. It's been a while. But Grumpy and I have been pretty busy recently so it was pretty difficult to actually get a chapter out. However, we're back and ready to continue the story! We've got a lot of things planned and it's going to be a fun and exciting ride! We hope you guys enjoy! Until next time, live life like an Xplosion! JFlare and Grumpy out! :D**


	7. Interdimensional

Interdimensional

Have you ever wanted to change the past? Have you ever thought about a moment in time or an event that occurred where you wanted to alter it in some way. Change something you said? Or something you did? Or perhaps erase it from existence entirely and pretend like it never happened at all? It's something we all feel from time to time. Despite trying to do your best to live the best life you can, some issue will always arise and develop regrets. Whether it was a result of your own actions or someone else's, something can always happen. And unfortunately, the past cannot be altered, no matter how much we wish it to be. The past is the past, it's a done deal, finished, only to be remembered, but not to be re-lived. And in most instances, our past will eventually catch back up with us. It simply depends on how we react. What has passed is in the past, there is nothing we can do. But what we can do is learn from our past to mold a better future. Regardless of anyone's past transgressions, faults, mistakes, or mishaps, a brighter future is always possible.

"Hey! It's my favorite panda!" an orange tanuki exclaimed with his arms spread apart.

"T-Tatakai!?" Lu gasped, taking a step back.

The tanuki threw one of his arms around the panda's neck, "Hehe, long time no see, buddy!"

"Ah, ind-deed… h-how did you…?"

"Find you? Easy. You leave a trail of peace wherever you go." Tatakai joked, lightly grabbing Lu's ear. "What's wrong with ya? You ain't happy to see me?"

"Haha… it's c-certainly a pleasant surprise…" Lu answered cautiously, gripping onto Tatakai's wrist of the hand that pulled on his ear.

"Well, I'm damn glad to see your face again!" Tatakai laughed, quickly pulling Lu into a tight hug, the tanuki's massive tail swaying back and forth in excitement. Lu couldn't help but laugh as well, seeing a friend after so long did indeed make him happy, and even more so to know that they were still close.

"Glad to see you as well, Tatakai." The panda smiled, wrapping his arms around the orange tanuki.

"Uh, hello!" Bonnie suddenly interjected. "Aren't you gonna introduce us?"

"O-oh, of course." Lu stuttered for a moment, pulling away from his friend, "Kai, this is my new team. Freddy Fazbear, Lydia Pearson, Yorokobi Tsuyoi, and Bonnie Steele." Tatakai looked over the other four, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Hmm…" He uttered, rubbing his chin, "Pretty badass group, I think." Lu chuckled softly in response.

"And you are?" Lydia spoke up, folding her arms.

"Tatakai Tsumoshi, thick legs~." Tatakai responded. Lydia swiftly slapped the tanuki without an ounce of hesitation, her glare intensifying. Tatakai winced slightly, somewhat in shock.

"Heh...okay, feisty. I can dig it." The tanuki chuckled.

"You've already overstayed your welcome." Lydia snarled, "You may leave."

"Hey, hey, calm down. It was a compliment." Tatakai said with a smirk. Lu sighed, dropping his head. The panda was relatively desensitized to behavior such as this, especially around Tatakai.

"You haven't changed at all…" He murmured, resting his forehead in the palm of his hand.

"Leave. Now." Lydia growled.

"Hehe… hold on, Ms. Lydia." Yorokobi interjected, lightly tapping the feline's shoulder. "What if he can tell us something we should know? You never know, right? And besides, I'm sure he's sorry for what he said, aren't you Mr. Tanuki?"

"Don't call me mister, I'm just as old as you are." Tatakai snorted, "But yeah, sure. I'm sorry."

Lydia growled, turning her head, "Only because Kobi suggested." Yorokobi smiled, giggling happily in response.

"What can you tell us? If anything at all." Freddy finally said, standing with his arms folded and his weight shifted to his back leg, his signature stance. "Better be something valuable."

"Well, depends on how you define valuable, don't it?" Tatakai replied, arching an eyebrow as he held his hands behind his head. The tanuki's eyes carefully scanned the other four anthros, regaining his smirk.

"Though… it's pretty obvious what you guys want." He said, shrugging his shoulders minutely.

"Kai… it would be very much appreciated if you didn't play any games. This is rather serious." Lu told his friend, placing a hand on the tanuki's shoulder.

Tatakai sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets, "Dammit… I can never have any fun anymore." The others were silent, their attention locked on the orange tanuki. He then adopted a rather serious expression, lifting his head toward the others.

"Well, let's get down to business then." He said sternly.

"Not here." Lydia said, glancing around, "Somewhere a little less busy." The others nodded before they all made their way to a secluded room in the back of the facility. Few personnel were around, so the five were mostly by themselves. Freddy leaned up against a nearby wall, his arms folded once more.

"Alright, go ahead." Bonnie said with a nod.

Tatakai let out a soft sigh, "So, yeah… I'm sure at least some of you have heard about the other realms, right?" There was a still silence. The others glanced around at each other, clearly unaware of what he was talking about. "Aa, mou… (Ah, jeez…) W-Well, I guess I'll explain." The tanuki stood up straight and cleared his throat. "So… there are a total of four realms out there. There's the one we live in, the Earth Realm, then the Phantom Realm, the Shadow Realm, and the Nightmare Realm. All these realms house a multitude of different races of beings. Some… actually, all of these creatures are extremely powerful and possess abilities most of us can't even fathom. And right now, there's a massive issue going on with the Shadow Realm." The defense team was quiet, listening intently to what Tatakai had to say.

"The Shadow Realm is tightly held together by these magical crystals called Light Diamonds that each hold unbelievable power." The tanuki continued, "These diamonds cast just the right amount of light into the Shadow Realm so that its inhabitants remain sane and balanced. And thanks to a source of mine, I've discovered that someone is stealing the Light Diamonds from the Shadow Realm, sending it into chaos. After the first one was stolen, the others were dispersed across the four realms. But, they do have someone out there trying to collect the diamonds right now. The kid's name is Harley."

"Harley!?" Freddy repeated in shock, pushing himself off the wall.

"Yeah, you know him?" Tatakai replied in question.

"Hell yeah, we do! He was our prisoner!" Freddy yelled, "We let him go yesterday! I knew he had an important aura around him!"

"Well, good thing you let him go." Tatakai said, holding up a finger as he placed a fist on his hip, "The kid is literally the only hope the Shadow Realm and all its inhabitants have left. Their lives rest on his shoulders, all depending if he can find those diamonds in time."

"What about the rest of us?" Bonnie interjected. "Does the Shadow Realm losing the diamonds affect any of us?"

"Of course it does." Tatakai answered quickly, folding his arms as his large tail swayed back and forth. "The four realms have a balance. I'm sure you know about the web of life or ecosystems and all that? It's similar to that. Remove something too big or too important, it can cause catastrophic events. The Shadow Realm is just as important as any other." The others grew silent, each of them taking in the information.

"If so… why weren't we taught this a long time ago?" Lu questioned.

Tatakai shrugged his shoulders, "Hell if I know. People are stupid. Maybe most of us aren't smart enough to know or understand shit like that."

"Or fear." Freddy spoke up, "Fear is crippling. Controlling. Maybe it was a fear of the other realms so the knowledge of it all was kept hidden."

"That sounds about right." The orange tanuki scoffed, shifting his weight to his right leg.

"Then we have to help Harley, right?" Bonnie said, stepping forward.

"What?" Lydia snarled.

"Think about it, if losing those Light Diamonds is that important, like Ta-... ta… what's your name again?" The purple bunny stammered, losing his train of thought.

"Tatakai!" The tanuki growled in annoyance.

"Right, right. If what Tatakai says is true," Bonnie continued, "Then we could end up in some deep shit if we don't help!"

"And who's going to take our place here?" Freddy retorted.

"The other teams, of course!" Yorokobi chimed in, "Sure, we're the best team in the facility, but that's exactly why we're much more suited for this whole Light Diamonds thing than anybody else! The teams below us can protect the city, while we protect the world! No, worlds!"

"I agree." Lu said with a nod, "You've even said that you wish our missions were more exciting. Now is our chance." Freddy was silent, his same old stern glare remaining on his face as he thought. The brown bear looked to Lydia, arching an eyebrow as he waited for her reply. Lydia stood with her hands on her hips, letting out a sigh.

"Well… to be honest, it does sound pretty interesting. And if we don't, who will." She said, folding her arms. Freddy lowered his head, his ears following suit. He was unable to keep a smirk from going across his face, excitement filling him.

"I… guess we're going treasure hunting…" He said softly, attempting to hide his smile. The others grinned as well, looking forward to starting their new mission.

Tatakai stepped forward, "Sweet, the more the merrier. Now, we just have to find the kid."

"That'll be easy." Freddy spoke up once more, "I put a tracker on him before he left."

"You sure you ain't a thief too? Cause that's slick." Tatakai chuckled.

"Oh, shut up and follow me." Freddy spat as he walked further into the building, earning a laugh from the orange tanuki. The group made their way into one of the large strategy rooms within the facility. Freddy led the way as he turned on one of the monitors.

"Whoa... " Tatakai uttered in amazement, stepping around the room and looking over all the high tech gadgets. "This is so sick… look at all this."

"This place is run by TDO, after all." Lydia told the tanuki somewhat proudly.

"Real shit. This is amazing!" Tatakai beamed, "Imagine what I could do with tech like this!"

"Don't get your hopes up." The purple feline said quickly, narrowing her eyes. Tatakai chuckled as he walked up to Freddy, leaning on the table that Freddy was typing on.

"Soooo, what are we doing?" He asked the bear, looking over his shoulder.

"I'm looking for Harley. I said we put a tracker on him before he left, just in case we needed him again." Freddy answered, his eyes locked on the holographic screens before him.

"Right, right. Thief with a badge. My bad." Tatakai teased, letting his tail rub down Freddy's back. Freddy shook in discomfort as he felt Tatakai's fur, quickly standing up and pushing him back.

"Don't. Do that." He growled, his right eye twitching. Tatakai simply chuckled in response. Freddy shook his head and went back to the computers, his discomfortable expression remaining oh his face.

"What's taking so long?" Bonnie asked, standing on the opposite side of the table.

"I don't know…" Freddy answered, "It shouldn't be this hard to find him."

"Perhaps he took it off…" Lu suggested, standing beside Lydia.

"No… I don't think so." Freddy murmured, his eyes darting across the holograms, "We told him not to take it off or we wouldn't let him go."

"Well, he could have just took it off the moment he got out." Bonnie shrugged.

"I doubt that kid's _that_ much of an ass." Freddy growled, standing up straight as he looked about a hologram of the city.

"He's not in the city, that's for sure." Lu said softly.

Freddy contorted his face with anger, "What the hell? I know we put that tracker on him!"

"Freddy…" Lydia growled, gripping the bear's shoulder, "This was your idea, and I swear if he's back out on the streets doing whatever the hell he wants because you wanted to let him out!"

"L-Lydia, h-how was I supposed to know th-this would happen!?" Freddy replied with a stutter, backing away from the feline.

"How about because I said it would! Once a thief, always a thief!" Lydia shouted, "I honestly don't know what goes through your stupid head sometimes! No, you know what, I'm stupid for listening to you!"

"Oh, c-come on…" Freddy groaned, his back against the wall as Lydia advanced toward him.

"I can't believe I let an idiot like you actually suggest something as crazy as that! And now we got this perverted tanuki in here like he can actually do something!" Lydia continued to rage.

"Hey!" Tatakai interjected.

"Zip it, dick head!" The purple cat roared, pushing him against the wall, "I don't know wh-"

"M-Miss Lydia!" Yorokobi called the feline.

"WHAT?!" Lydia screamed as she turned toward the large bear. Yorokobi raised his shoulders in fear as he pointed to the hologram, a red dot slowly gliding across it. Lydia gradually relaxed her face, dropping her shoulders. Freddy sighed in relief, sliding down the wall.

"Okay… so maybe you're not _that_ stupid." Lydia said as she let out a sigh, dusting off her shoulders.

"Are we sure that's him?" Bonnie asked softly, afraid he might get Lydia mad again. The feline glared at Freddy, who slowly got back to his feet.

"Of course it's him. We don't have any other trackers out there right now…" Freddy answered, catching his breath, "... I hope."

"You better hope, cause your life depends on it." Lydia growled. Freddy decided not to respond, walking back to the computer.

"Where is he going?" Lu asked in a low tone.

"It… looks like… he's headed toward the outskirts of the city." Freddy replied, panting lightly. "It's gotta be him. There's nothing out there except a few homes."

"Then that's where we're headed too." Tatakai said, punching the palm of his hand.

"Yeah… let's get this over with." Freddy affirmed. Lydia remained silent, walking out of the room. Freddy placed a hand over his chest, shaking his head.

"Man… she is terrifying when she's mad." Bonnie whispered to the bear, walking beside him.

"And she gets mad so easily…" Freddy replied softly.

"Yeah, man. She's worse than you." Bonnie scoffed. Freddy glared at the bunny. "S-sorry." The group made their way out of the facility, hurrying toward the outskirts of the city. The six of them quickly traversing through the streets, buildings, and civilians. Gradually, there were fewer and fewer buildings and roads in their field of vision.

"We getting close?" Bonnie asked Freddy as they ran.

"Yeah, should be there in a few minutes." Freddy answered.

"Whoo hoo~! This is exciting~!" Yorokobi cheered, jumping up and down as he ran. Lydia smiled at the large bear, finding his childlike wonder awfully cute. Soon, the six noticed a small house coming up toward them.

"I think we're here." Freddy said as he and other came to a stop.

"Cute home." Tatakai said as he stepped up to the door, "Seems roomy though." Freddy knocked on the door, folding his arms after he did so.

A short moment after, a yellow Chicken opened the door, chirping slightly. "Oh, hello. How can I help you?", She asked sweetly, sounding nearly like a mother.

"Hi!" Yorokobi greeted in return with a giddy wave.

"We're looking for someone named Harley." Freddy said sternly, "Does he live here?"

The chicken looked slightly surprised for a moment, before nodding softly. "Well, yea… He does live here. But why are you looking for him?"

"We know that he's looking for Light Diamonds to restore balance to the Shadow Realm." Tatakai said swiftly, stepping forward, "We'd just like help him do that, is all."

The chicken blinked, looking around carefully as if being in a chase. "Alright, where is the police? You guys can't fool me.", Her happy chirping quickly disappeared, sounding extremely stern and nearly bothered.

"You're looking at 'em." Freddy replied, folding his arms. "But we're not here to arrest him."

"We wanna help him! These Light Diamonds are gonna find themselves~!" Yorokobi added.

"Hah… I don't trust you people.", she replied with an annoyed sigh. "Touch him and I gladly burn you all down." A smile crept over her face, not a genuine one but more of a warning.

"Yeah, sure, whatever. Look." Freddy began again, "If you're his mother or something, you've got nothing to worry about. We're not looking to hurt him. We understand the issue that he's enduring right now, and it affects all of us. We're here to help him achieve his goal and get those Light Diamonds back. Just let us in."

She sighed once more, before opening the door completely. "Harley, dear. Here are people that wanna talk to you.", She sounded still unpleasant about the idea. The light brown bear soon walked out from behind Chi, a couple of french fries in his mouth.

"Mmph!" He exclaimed, pointing at the six before going into a coughing fit and spitting out the fries. Freddy's expression was still, unamused and focused. Lydia arched an eyebrow at the younger bear.

"Are you okay?" Yorokobi asked, pouting minutely.

"Aggh… I'm fine, what are you guys doing here?!" Harley replied, pointing at the six once more before noticing Tatakai. "You… I don't know you."

"Tatakai Tsumoshi." The tanuki introduced himself. "I know lots about you, Shadow boy." Harley narrowed his eyes a little, not sure whether to take that as a compliment or a threat.

"We understand that you're looking for Light Diamonds to get your world back in order." Freddy said, making eye contact with Harley.

"Y-yeah… soo? What's it to you?" Harley replied.

"We wanna help you!" Yorokobi beamed.

"Wha?" The light brown bear uttered in confusion.

"Look, this whole thing that you're doing, it affects us too." Lydia said as she stepped in front of Freddy. "And the faster we eliminate this problem, the faster we can all get back to our own lives. We understand that you can't do this mission alone, so we're here to help you finish it."

Harley pouted a little, folding his arms, "What, you don't think I can do it on my own?"

"You're doing it with your own team, aren't you?" Bonnie responded, a small smirk on his face.

"Touche…" Harley mumbled, looking away.

"We don't have time for this." Freddy growled as he clenched his fists, "Do you want our help or not?"

"Yeah, sure. I guess." Harley shrugged his shoulders, "Why not."

"And by the way, make sure your mother doesn't get too involved. She'll probably just slow you down." Freddy mentioned matter of factly.

"I ain't got a mother." Harley replied, confusion coating his tone. Chi began to laugh, an awfully creepy grin on her face. The others were silent and confused, staring at the yellow chicken.

"Haahh… I'm sorry… that was hilarious, I'm sorry." Chi sighed, wiping a tear from her eye as she stood up straight again. "I'm not his mother."

"Oh… I d-don't get why that was funny…" Yorokobi murmured, his eyes darting around as he lightly tapped his knuckles together.

"It's okay. I'm not his mom, but I am involved." Chi said, resting her hands on her hips.

"Hey!" Tatakai interrupted, "If it's all the same to you, could you invite us in so we don't have to stand out here all day?"

Chi blinked in slight surprise, "O-oh, of course. I'm sorry." Chi opened up the door wider, stepping back to allow the assassin team into the house. The six of them glanced around as they entered the home. They walked into the living room, it was clean, open, and rather roomy. The color scheme was welcoming and serene. It felt like a home where a nice family would live. Freddy stepped into the living room and sat down on the couch in the center with a soft sigh, letting his head rest on the rest behind him.

"If I may ask," Lu said softly, "Is it just you two here?"

"Nope." Chi answered, smiling warmly at him, "There are others here too."

"Will we get to meet them too~?" Yorokobi asked gleefully, excitement quickly overwhelming him.

Chi nodded, "Sure. Felix! Bonnie!" The chicken called, turning her head toward the stairs. It didn't take long before the others could hear steps walking down the stairs. A red fox and a purple bunny walked in, looking confused as they noticed the assassins.

"What are they doing here?", Bonnie asked confused and slightly in shock to see them again.

"Yea, why tha' assassins her'?", Felix asked as well, sounding annoyed.

"Cause of your boy thief wonder right here." Bonnie snorted, pointing to Harley. For a moment, Bonnie's eyes widened, looking to the other purple bunny. "W-wait… your name is Bonnie too?" The other purple bunny shrugged, not really bothering.

"Aye, we called him Bonnie since a certain someone doesn't bother tellin' us his real name.", Felix interrupted. Chi looked at they Bonnie for a moment, rolling her eyes slightly annoyed.

"Oh, well, we can't both be called Bonnie… that'll make things really confusing." Bonnie, Freddy's bud, replied, holding his hands behind his head.

The purple bunny shrugged again. "I kindly remind that they never bothered asking.", He chuckled, looking for a moment at Harley, his smile dropping as a slight angry expression got on the face. It quickly disappeared as he continued talking. "You may call me Bastien."

"Bastien. Cool name." Bonnie smirked,winking and planting a fist on his right hip accompanied with a thumbs up.

Bastien chuckled. "Thank you."

Felix sighed. "So, we work together for two years. And you never bothered telling us your real name, but you automatically tell them your real name? I'm disappointed.", The red fox grumbled, crossing his arms.

"Don't bother, Felix…", Harley mumbled.

"Anywho," Yorokobi interjected with a sweet tone, clasping his hands together, "We're all a giant team now~!"

"I mean… yeah, that's the long and short of it." Tatakai agreed, folding his arms and shifting his weight to his left.

Chi huffed, resting her hands on her hips. "And then I get called a mom.", she grumbled.

"Come on, that was a mistake and it won't happen again.", Harley smiled innocently at her, trying to hide a slight grin.

"Yea, yea, you can say that easy.", Chi grumbled.

"Aye, alright, but anyways… So, we are a team now, did I get it right?", Felix asked, looking at them all.

"Yup yup~!" Yorokobi affirmed with a giddy grin. "We ought to introduce ourselves, right?"

"Ughh…" Freddy groaned in annoyance upon hearing this.

"Well, uhm…", Harley said. "B-Bastien already did so did Bonnie… uhm… I guess we have to do that?", He mumbled, fumbling his fingers again.

Chi quickly grabbing a hold of Harley's left hand, holding it away. "Don't do that. Last time your claw broke off."

"Well… we don't all know each other, do we?" Yorokobi replied, holding his hands behind his back innocently, "It'd be better if we all at least knew each other's names and all before we got started, don't you think~?" Lydia nodded silently, glancing toward the thief team.

Felix lifted his hand. "Since ya all are too shy to even get started, so hey, I'm Felix, I'm the sniper of the the team here. Guns and that stuff are my thing."

"Hi, Felix~!" Yorokobi greeted him with a giddy wave, "I'm Yorokobi Tsuyoi~! I like eating!"

"Bonnie Steele's the name." Bonnie introduced himself with a prideful grin, "Plasma guns are my game."

"Lydia Pearson." Lydia said with a nod, "Skilled in hand to hand combat."

"Chiaki Delaney. But please just call me Chi.", Chi chirped softly in a sweet tone.

"Eh, Bastien Johnson.", Bastien said simply.

"What? Why are you now just telling us your last name?!", Felix interrupted.

Harley couldn't help but chuckle a bit, "Felix, calm down, it's fine."

"Just now we were playing Street Fighters for two years straight and only now I learn his name…", Felix sobbed softly, holding his right hand over his chest while staring up in disappointment and sorrow.

Lu chuckled softly, shaking his head, "My name is Da Lu Xin, but please call me Lu. I'm originally from Shanghai… and I'm skilled in multiple forms of hand to hand combat."

"Tatakai Tsumoshi." Tatakai inserted himself, throwing an arm around his panda friend. "Retired TDO engineer, currently a mercenary, and this guy's best friend." Lu chuckled softly in response.

Harley smiled softly. "I mean, I assume everyone slightly knows who I am… I'm am Harley Sha'An'Zu, but since people can't pronounce my real last name I go with Fazbear in the living realm." Lastly was Freddy, who glanced at the others still sitting back on the couch.

With a sigh, he spoke, "Freddy Fazbear. Apparently known around the city as the Blue Note. Self-trained assassin… and I like using kunai knives."

"Awesome! We know each other now!" Yorokobi beamed, "At least our names, we'll get more personal and all as this goes on. But, yay!"

"Now onto more important matters." Lydia said, "The Light Diamonds. Tatakai told us there were twelve. How many do you have now?"

Harley looked at Chi, then back at the assassins. "We got five of em…", Harley mumbled, fumbling now nervously with his fingers as he lowered his head.

"That's more than I expected." Tatakai spoke up. "Not a great amount, but comfortable."

"Speaking of which, how the hell do we find these things? Do you have a tracker or something?" Bonnie asked, tilting and scratching his head.

Chi smiled softly. "I've builded a machine that used a light diamonds waves to locate the others."

"But the problem is simply, twelve are here. Twelve are in another realm called the Nightmare Realm and Twelve are in another realm you barely hear of…", Harley mumbled.

"Ooohh… there are twelve in each realm…" Tatakai murmured thoughtfully.

"So… it's just the Shadow Realm that are missing its Light Diamonds, right?" Freddy asked, standing up and turning toward the thief group.

"Yes, the problem is…", Bastien started. "The Shadow Realm has only four in total. That's all we know from Aiko, the _guardian_ of the light diamonds…"

"Technically, we must search through three realms. The thief group before us went through the Shadow Realm to get one at least restored, but since they can't leave the Shadow Realm… They asked Harley.", Felix explained. "That's, well… Yea that's literally how Harley became our Leader.", The red fox poked Chi with his elbow while smirking widely.

Chi rolled her eyes. "And that's good so. Now I can focus more on getting us weapons and machinery."

"So in the long run, we're using the power of the Light Diamonds from other realms to rekindle the ones for the Shadow Realm?" Bonnie questioned.

"No, no…", Harley replied. "We are looking for the diamonds to bring them back into the Shadow Realm, where they belong to. I don't know what made them split apart and leave to the other realms."

"Ooh… my bad." Bonnie snorted, rubbing the back of his head, "I'm listening, I swear."

Freddy rolled his eyes, "So the lost Shadow Realm Diamonds are scattered across all the other realms, right?"

Harley nodded. "Yes, that's about right."

"Oh awesome! We're going realm hopping!" Yorokobi cheered. Lydia smirked at Yorokobi, finding their new mission rather exciting as well.

"Well, if anyone ever wanted to see the world… and other worlds, now seems like our perfect opportunity." Lu said with a smile.

"Then it's settled." Freddy stated with finality, "Tomorrow… we head for our next Light Diamond."

* * *

 **A/N: Heeyoooo, guys, gals, and anything in between! We're back with another chapter of Blades of the Nameless! Things are starting to kick off now, and we're starting to get into the meat of this story. It's gonna get real fun and real interesting very soon! And Grumpy and I are extremely excited to get there! It's gonna be awesome! Both of us thank you all very deeply for being patient with us and enjoying the story! We hope you guys like this chapter! Until next time, live life like an Xplosion! JFlare and Grumpy out!**


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